A 27-year old woman who was imprisoned for eleven years for abandoning her child and accused of the rape of a minor boy has been acquitted. The incident became a public outcry when the newborn baby boy was found dead in one of the alleys in Phuentshogling town in 2018.
A forensic report then revealed that the baby was born alive. During the incident, the defendant- a sweeper in Sertena Primary School in Haa, was accompanied by the principal and a male teacher from the same school. Upon investigation, it was found that the defendant had an affair with a boy from the same school. Phuentshogling Dungkhag Court then sentenced her to nine years in prison for the rape of a minor and two years for abandoning the child.
Zhenphen Thrimwang, a private legal firm in Phuentshogling then took up the case on pro bono basis. The firm found out that the boy had already turned 18 years when they had sexual intercourse.
The High Court and Chhukha Court have then acquitted the defendant from serving the nine years of imprisonment. Since the defendant already served eighteen months of imprisonment, she had another six months left to finish the two years imprisonment for abandoning the child.
However, according to the lawyer of Zhenphen Thrimwang legal firm, since the defendant has no past criminal records, the court cleared the remaining six-month term in prison.
The High Court passed the judgement on January 20, this year. The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) had the last date till last Monday to appeal. Since OAG didn’t appeal, the case ended in the defendant’s favour.
Sonam Penjor
