Bella Case : Justice for Bella
Bella, a down syndrome teenager was found in a very filthy condition where wounds and pus were all over her body, by Zurianty Sudin who is also known as ‘Mommy’ in a condominium unit at Wangsa Maju on 24th June last year.
When asked about Bella’s physical condition, the occupants (witnesses) had to lie saying Bella did that to herself for being too naughty, just to save themselves from receiving the same fate as Bella from the unit’s owner, Siti Bainun.
Upon being reported by Zurianty, it is said that Siti Bainun was arrested on 6th July. However, the results of the police investigation remain unknown even after three weeks of being in trial and charged under section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001.
In addition to that, a witness who lives together with Bella at the condominium has stepped forward in court by admitting that Siti Bainun has been giving ridiculous orders such as biting Bella’s tummy for being stubborn and using a syringe that contains hot water to spray on her.
Last year, Bella was taken to the Children’s Court to seek custody rights, and it was then that she met Siti Bainun for the first time. On that occasion, Siti Bainun appealed to the judge to bring Bella home to ‘take care’ of her at Rumah Bonda, therefore her petition was approved.
Though the number of children in need of care has a slight drop from 6,382 in 2019 to 5,858 in 2020 in the span of one year, Bella’s case still has become a significant story indicating the importance of special children’s welfare.
In view of Siti Bainun’s trial that is still on-going, the news exposure of child abuse topic has shown an incline in the media after 9th April, same goes to news exposure on the OKU topic.
As Bella’s case has begun to be in the attention of the public again, phrases that are mainly used by the media on Child Abuse topic are likely in relation to the case such as pengasas rumah bonda.
In the instance of the OKU topic, however, orang kelainan upaya was the most commonly used phrase by the media.
Ras adiba, the president of OKU Sentral was the top influencer of bth Chil Abuse and OKU topics as she has been following the case very closely despite not being physically present at the court following Bella’s case.
As seen in the chart above, the media has mostly focused on numerous aspects of Bella’s case, including Ras Adiba Radzi, keteragan saksi kes Bella, and others under child abuse topic. So it is with the OKU topic, where the media has taken a keen interest in the issue, concentrating on Bella ras adiba, care centres adiba, and amend law.
Ras adiba has been making statements throughout March relating to the OKU topic where she claimed to be accommodating to all members of the disabled population, supporting their interests and articulating issues that will promote their rights.
Though the issue has received little media attention, most Malaysians are still eager and persistent to fight for Bella’s justice.