Bandar Seri Begawan - The cause of the death of a two-year-old girl following a beating by her guardian was revealed in the High Court yesterday after the defendant pleaded guilty.

Mohd Zini bin Sulaiman, 27, pleaded guilty to a charge of abusing Nursyazariema binti Md Shukri (the daughter of his girlfriend), who was under his care at a house in Jalan Pandan, Kg Mumong, where the defendant, his girlfriend and her daughters live.

On a second charge, the defendant pleaded guilty to having voluntarily caused grievous hurt to the young victim by repeatedly punching and kicking her, causing the victim to sustain a perforated small intestine, which endangered her life.

The defendant also pleaded guilty to a third charge which states that the defendant had committed culpable homicide not amounting to murder by causing the victim's death through the abuse, with the knowledge that it was likely to cause death, though without intention to cause death and without the intention of causing bodily injuries that are likely to cause death.

The offences were committed on Dec 15, 2011. The facts of the case were read out to Mohd Zini in Malay by an interpreter in the High Court. The defendant admitted to the charges.

He worked as a welder with a local company and resides at his father's home in Jalan Pandan. He took in his girlfriend, 23-year-old divorcee Nordiana binti Abdullah @ Noraini, along with her two young daughters, to live in with him and has been supporting them since 2010.

The court also heard that he had been ill-treating the victim since they first moved in with him and when the victim was aged one. At about 8am on Dec 15, 2011, the defendant was awoken from his sleep by the cries of the victim who refused to take off her pyjamas and take a bath.

Enraged by this, the defendant immediately scolded the victim in his girlfriend's presence. He then assaulted the young victim, including punching her in the stomach repeatedly, grabbing her throat, as well as throwing her against a wall and onto a mattress.

In the bathroom, he pushed her head into the toilet bowl but she was still crying and refused to take a bath. The defendant's girlfriend told him to stop hitting the girl, and she was also punched in the stomach when she intervened.

That same morning, the defendant again vented his anger on the victim for defecating on a bed mattress and on his pants. He continued to subject the victim to more assaults and ordered her into a car, as they were going out to shop and for a leisurely drive in Kuala Belait.

Upon returning home later that day, the victim vomited. In the afternoon, the defendant, his girlfriend and her two daughters went for another drive in Seria. The defendant at one point asked the victim what was wrong and the latter said she had a stomachache.

Assuming that the victim was hungry, they all went to get something to eat. Nevertheless, she did not eat anything and instead told the defendant that she was sleepy.

On their way home that evening, she started vomiting again, so they brought her into a bedroom to rest. However, she could not sleep and continued crying.

The cries slowly dissipated and that was when the victim's mother realised something horrible had happened to her daughter. The defendant rushed the victim to the hospital and on their way the victim's mother told the defendant that her child was no longer breathing.

Upon arriving at the Sun i Seri Begawan Hospital in KB, the victim was pronounced 'Dead on Arrival' by the attending medical officer on Dec 16 at 2.35am. The medical officer also noted that there were multiple bruise marks all over the victim's body and that she was in a state of rigor mortis.

The defendant initially informed the medical staff that she had fallen from the stairs. However, the staff were suspicious and alerted the police.

A post-mortem report was conducted by a specialist pathologist from the RIPAS Hospital and a report was consequently prepared. It was established that the cause of death was "Septicemia secondary to a perforated small intestine following an assault. Death would have been accelerated by aspiration of milk".

The High Court reserved sentencing for Jan 7, 2012. Deputy Public Prosecutor Suhana Hj Sudin handled the case.