>JOHOR BAHRU, MALAYSIA - Describing Ramlee Basa-ruddin's crime as "cruel" and "hideous", magistrate Nor-syahid Malik handed down the maximum punishment allowed in a magistrate's court for unintentional homicide under Section 304b of the Penal Code.
Ramlee, who was unrepresented, was also sentenced to an additional year in prison for a separate offence of being in the country without valid documents.
He was also punished with four strokes of the cane for the offence under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1963.
Both sentences are to run consecutively from yesterday.
Ramlee had pleaded guilty to unintentionally killing the baby at 1323 JTM 13/2 Lorong Ahmad Yusof, Ulu Tiram, here, at 5.35pm on Jan 8.
It was reported that he had taken the infant from his 20-year-old girlfriend, a local girl, who had given birth about 4am that day.
Ramlee buried the infant alive in a shallow hole behind the house he and his girlfriend shared.
He also pleaded guilty to not having valid travel documents when he was caught at the same date, time and place.
During sentencing, Nor-syahid said the offence of unintentional murder carried a maximum 10 year prison term but that he was only empowered to hand down a maximum five-year sentence.
"I cannot imagine the level of cruelty in the crime you just committed.
"To bury your own child when it is the duty of a father to protect and nurture his offspring.
"Although this court can only hand down a five-year sentence, your crime deserves a punishment befitting its ghastliness and to serve as a lesson to society."
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