MALAYSIA - A 40-year old stepmother has been sentenced to 20 years jail for beating, pinching and biting her stepchildren.

Noraini Yusoff pleaded guilty in the Kuantan magistrates' court to abusing the children - 11-year old girl and a nine-year old boy at her house in Batu 8 Jalan Gambang two weeks ago.

According to Bernama, magistrate Nor Zaihan Mohamad Ali ordered Noraini to serve the sentence from the date of her arrest on Oct 22.

In mitigation, Noraini said she had abused the children because she was facing domestic problems.

The magistrate ignored her plea not to be sent to jail on the grounds that she has a five-year old child, from her marriage to the father of the two abused children, to take care of.