SINGAPORE — A babysitter was given seven years' jail on Monday (Dec 7) for poisoning two infants who were in her care four years ago with cocktails of drugs.

Sa'adiah Jamari, 39, maintains that she did not commit the offences against the babies — then five and 11 months old — and will be appealing against the decision.

The mothers of both children, who are unrelated, had hired registered nurse Sa'adiah in late 2016. They noticed their children were drowsy and that something was amiss after picking them up.

Both children were respectively hospitalised and drugs were found in their systems, making up the two charges of administering poison that Sa'adiah contested.

The drugs include: Alprazolam, also known as Xanax, meant for anxiety; orphenadrine, a muscle relaxant; zolpidem, to aid sleep; oxazepam, for anxiety and acute alcohol withdrawal; and diazepam, a benzodiazepine used to treat anxiety disorders, alcohol withdrawal or muscle spasms.

Some of these drugs were found in Sa'adiah's home and she had prescriptions for a couple of them.

In her defence at trial, Sa'adiah denied giving them to the babies and her lawyers argued that the grandmother of the first victim could have introduced small amounts of drugs into the baby's food.

The prosecution asked for the seven years' jail that was given, refuting the defence's argument that Sa'adiah's contributions to society as a nurse should be a mitigating factor.

The prosecutor said little weight should be placed on this and that this could be seen as aggravating instead, as Sa'adiah knew the effects of the drugs but continued to administer them.

Responding to the defence's argument that both babies have recovered, the prosecutor said this cannot be seen as mitigating, as the fact that the babies did not suffer worse effects was merely the lack of an aggravating factor.

The defence had submitted that there was an inordinate delay in proceedings, pointing out how the investigating officers had been directed as late as during the trial to carry out further investigations.

District Judge John Ng noted that Sa'adiah was a freelance nurse receiving jobs from hospitals and promoting herself as a nurse in her advertisements for babysitting and childcare services.

The offence of administering poisons with the intent to cause hurt is a grave one, with a sentence of considerable length warranted, said the judge.

KEY FACTORS IN CASE

One of the key factors in this case is the tender ages of the infants, who were "helpless babies totally dependant on their caregivers", said Judge Ng. 

"It is beyond any doubt that a baby is the most vulnerable of vulnerable victims," he added.

The other factors are the nature of the drugs, which put the lives of the victims at risk, the high level of trust reposed in Sa'adiah by the babies' mothers, and the necessity of a highly deterrent sentence against such acts.

"Madam Sa'adiah is a divorced mother of two teenage daughters," said Judge Ng. "She maintains that she had not committed the offences."

He agreed with the prosecution's requested sentence, adding that Sa'adiah had shown "no remorse" and given "no cooperation with investigating agencies".

He noted that an attempt was made to seek a lower sentence on the basis of Sa'adiah's purported psychiatric disorders, but said this was "a non-starter" as no causal links were found between the disorders and the commission of her offences.

For each count of administering poison with the intent to cause hurt, Sa'adiah could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined. She cannot be caned as she is a woman. CNA

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