PUTRAJAYA, June 20 — A former college student, who previously was sentenced to death for causing the death of her newborn son in a dormitory toilet bowl six years ago, cried when the Court of Appeal freed her, here today.

A three-judge bench, headed by Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, made the ruling after being informed that the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC) had accepted the representation of Nur Izzati Adi, 26, who requested a lesser charge from murder to causing death.

Nur Izzati later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, and the panel handed down a nine-year jail sentence to begin from the day of arrest, on March 30, 2017.

"The appellant was released immediately today and I instructed the prison warden to remove her handcuffs and she is free to walk out of the courtroom,” said Hadhariah, who was sitting together with Justices Datuk Azman Abdullah and Mohamed Zaini Mazlan.

On April 10, 2017, Nur Izzati was charged with murdering the victim in the hostel’s toilet on the third floor of Kolej Pertanian Malaysia Bukit Kayu Hitam at 5.20pm on March 30 the same year under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohammed Mokhzani Faris Mokhtar said the AGC reduced the charge to infanticide under Section 309A of the Penal Code punishable under Section 309B of the same code which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine.

Lawyer Datuk Amirul Ridzuan Hanif, representing the accused, confirmed the matter and proposed a nine-year prison sentence starting from the date Nur Izzati was arrested.

Mohammed Mokhzani Faris did not object to the prison term.

After the proceedings, Nur Izzati, who had been previously held at Pokok Sena Prison was seen hugging family members.

On June 14, 2020, the Alor Setar High Court sentenced Nur Izzati to death after she was found guilty of killing her newborn and submitted a representation to the AGC on April 11, 2023, for a lighter sentence. — Bernama