PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian woman has pleaded guilty to blackmailing the parents of a dying baby at the Melbourne magistrate’s court yesterday. She will face a preliminary hearing at the County Court of Victoria at a later date.
Siti Nurhidayah Kamal, 24, was accused of contacting the parents of 11-month old Amiyah Windross and asking for A$1000 (RM2,880) for the return of a stolen mobile phone which contained photos of their child.
The baby, Amiyah, died after succumbing to an undiagnosed neurological issue she fought since her birth.
Siti was said to have contacted Jay and Dee Windross via whatsapp after they made a plea on social media for the return of the Samsung Galaxy S8 phone which contained the baby’s photos, the Daily Mail reported yesterday.
The couple said they believe the phone was stolen from the toilets near Chadstone Shopping Centre in Victoria in April.
The Ringwood magistrates’ court in April was told that Siti and her husband had been working as Uber Eats deliverers earning A$120 (RM346) a day, the report said.
Her lawyer, Royce Dekker, said the couple left their children in Malaysia and had been trying to make ends meet when they fell on hard times and couldn’t pay the rent.
Siti has been denied bail by Magistrate Jan McLean.
