A 47-year-old woman has been sentenced to three years in prison for forcing three children, including her teenage daughter, to sell fruits by the busy roadside of Kota Kinabalu for long hours each day.

The woman, identified as Awala Antualang, pleaded guilty to three charges under the Child Act 2001 at the Sessions Court in Kota Kinabalu on Wednesday. 

The court heard that between January and late February this year, Awala made the children — two boys aged 11 and 12, and her 13-year-old daughter — sell fruits at different locations around the city from around 11am until 11pm. 

She provided the fruit and collected all the earnings, giving them irregular payments in return.

Authorities discovered the children working in unsafe conditions during a joint operation by the police and the Sabah Welfare Department on February 27. 

Awala, a holder of a Burung-Burung card — typically issued to undocumented individuals — was sentenced to three years’ jail for each charge, but the court ordered the sentences to run concurrently. 

She was also fined RM2,000, with an additional two months’ imprisonment if she fails to pay.

During mitigation, the mother of nine said she had no husband and that her youngest child, aged just over one year, is currently being cared for by her son. 

She also told the court her eldest son, aged 21, is in detention in connection with the same case.

Prosecutors had urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence, arguing that the children’s rights to protection had been violated.

The court also ordered that Awala be referred to immigration authorities after serving her sentence.

In addition, she faces two further charges involving her two sons, aged 11 and 12. 

However, the court did not record a guilty plea after she claimed she was unaware that her actions constituted an offence. 

These cases will be mentioned again on 22 April. – March 26, 2025