'Inhumane' woman jailed 10 years for scalding man with Down's Syndrome

A woman who splashed hot water on a man with Down's Syndrome while taking the lift at an apartment building in Penang has been slapped with 10 years in prison.

In meting out the punishment to Oo Saw Kee, Balik Pulau Sessions Court judge Ahzal Fariz Ahmad Khairuddin described her actions as “cruel and inhumane”.

The judge also sentenced Oo to a fine of RM6,000.

This comes after the 39-year-old pleaded guilty to the charge of causing injury to A Solairaj, 33.

The attack was captured on CCTV and the footage has since gone viral.

In the video, Oo is seen rummaging around before throwing hot water at the victim, who had just entered the lift and was standing meekly to one side.

According to the prosecution, both the accused and victim have been living in the same apartment block since 2014, but did not know each other.

Attack unprovoked

In his judgment, Ahzal said what Oo did was serious, especially against a disabled person. He added that Oo had acted in the absence of provocation.

"In this case, the court needs to take into consideration the public interest rather than the personal interest of the accused.

"We must give a warning so that this act is not repeated anywhere, especially against disabled individuals.

"The pluralistic society in this country will not allow this kind of act to happen again," he said during the proceedings today.

According to the charge sheet, Oo committed the offence on April 19 in an I-Park apartment lift, at about 9.24am.

She was charged under Section 326 of the Penal Code which covers voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means and carries a maximum jail term of 20 years.

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