KUCHING, July 17 -- The Sessions Court here has sentenced an Indonesian woman to five years' imprisonment for intentionally taking misoprostol to medically abort her unborn son.

Judge Musli Ab Hamid convicted Nopika, 21, on her guilty plea under Section 315 of the Penal Code for an act done with intent to prevent a child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth.

The Section provides for a jail term of up to 10 years, or a fine, or both upon conviction.

The offence was committed in a bedroom above an eatery at Batu Kawa at around 6am on June 24.

According to the facts of the case, a medical officer attended to Nopika on the night of the incident after she complained of abdominal pain.

She was found to be 27 weeks pregnant. ...