Nepalese woman acquitted in illegal abortion charge

BUKIT MERTAJAM: A Nepalese woman wept tears of relief when the Sessions Court discharged and acquitted her for having an illegal abortion.
Sessions Judge M. Vijayalakshmi said the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence to support its case against Nirmala Thapa.
"The prosecution has failed to prove a prima cases against the accused so she is acquitted and discharged", she said, without elaborating on the grounds of the judgement.
Dressed in a red blouse, 25-year-old Nirmala could barely contain her emotions and burst into tears, upon hearing the judgement.
She thanked her lawyer E. Gnasaegaran and hugged Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) and Tenaganita members who were in court with her.
Speaking to reporters outside the court-room , Gnasegaran said Nirmala is the first person in the country to be charged for having an illegal abortion.
"With this decision, she has vindicated herself by proving her innocence", he said.
Nirmala was found guilty by the Sessions Court on Nov 12 last year for terminating her pregnancy and was sentenced to a year in jail.
After she appealed against the conviction and sentence, the Penang High Court on January 11 quashed the decision and sent it back to the lower courts where she was charged again.
The charge under Section 315 of the Penal Code carries a maximum 10-year prison term or fine or both upon conviction.
She was alleged to have committed the offence at Poliklinik Ng in Taman Ciku at about 3pm on Oct 9, 2014.
Tenaganita director Aegile Fernandez told reporters that Nirmala wants to work in Malaysia and hopes that she will be re-employed by her former employer.
In a statement issued to the media, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) said justice has finally prevailed and urged for an apology from the agencies which persecuted Nirmala.
JAG added that Nirmala should be compensated for the trauma and loss of earnings that she suffered.