M'sia woman, 39, charged for allegedly murdering 16-month-old step-granddaughter

A 39-year-old woman in Malaysia was charged in court on Aug. 12, 2026, for allegedly murdering her 16-month-old step-granddaughter.

New Straits Times reported that no plea was recorded from the accused, Nurul Farhana Laili Shah, who was charged with murdering Nur Anggun Dahlia Abdullah.

A Johor police chief said the accused had cared for the baby since birth.

This is because the child's 18-year-old mother, who was not married and still studying at a vocational college in the state, left her in the woman's care.

Found child unresponsive

The Star reported that the child was initially believed to have died while sleeping at home on Jul. 31.

At about 9:30am that day, police had received a report from the victim's step-grandmother, who tried to wake the toddler but found her unresponsive.

"Medical personnel who arrived at the scene attempted CPR before the girl was pronounced dead at about 10:30am," The Star reported the police chief as saying.

"Initially, the case was investigated under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 for neglect resulting in the victim's death," the chief added.

Blunt force trauma

However, a post-mortem found that the child had died from blunt-force trauma to her abdomen and chest.

The wounds and bruises found on the child's body were believed to have been caused by abuse, and made the police reclassify the case as murder, The Star reported.

Following this, the police then arrested the victim's step-grandmother, grandfather and mother on Aug. 2 to assist in investigations.

The three, aged between 18 and 47 years old, had no prior criminal records and tested negative for drugs, the police chief said.

They were remanded until Aug. 12.

On Aug. 11, The Star reported that the prosecution instructed for the accused to be charged with murder.

The victim's grandfather and mother were to be released on bond under Section 118 of the Criminal Procedure Code to be prosecution witnesses.

Penalties

If convicted of murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code, the accused may face the death penalty or jail of up to 40 years and, if the death penalty is not imposed, caning of not less than 12 strokes.

The court fixed Dec. 12, 2026, for mention pending the completion of the chemical, post-mortem and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) reports.

No bail was granted, New Straits Times reported.