Utusan Malaysia reported that the 18-year-old entered her plea, witnessed by her mother, after the charge against her was read.

The court sentenced her to a month in prison and fined her RM5,000, with an additional five months’ imprisonment if she failed to pay the fine.

The girl, who paid the fine, said she became pregnant after being raped by a man with whom she was newly acquainted. She said she kept the incident secret out of fear.

“The accused confirms that no one else was involved in her plan to dispose of her baby, as the birth took place suddenly in a toilet,” the court interpreter said.

According to a police investigation into the accused and her mother, the teenager said she had not known that she was pregnant although she experienced stomach pains similar to period cramps.

“When she went to the toilet at a petrol station at Sungai Haji Dorani, the baby was suddenly born and fell into the toilet.

“The accused panicked. She immediately cleaned herself and exited the toilet,” said the interpreter.

According to the charge, the offence was committed at around 11am on March 24.

The girl, an assistant at an eatery, was charged under Section 318 of the Penal Code, which provides for up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Muqri Khairi, her lawyer from the National Legal Aid Foundation, asked the court to give her a lighter punishment, saying his client regretted her act and promised not to repeat it.

“The accused is supported by a single mother and works as an assistant at an eatery, making RM1,500 a month. Her mother works at a factory with a salary of RM1,500 a month.

“The accused has also cooperated well and aided the investigation since her arrest. This is her first offence. She was not thinking clearly and acted rashly on the day of the incident,” he said.

However, deputy public prosecutor Nor Hakimi Rosedin requested for a sentence that serves as a lesson to the accused and society, given that it involved the death of a baby.