KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 8 — Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has defended the move by his office to prosecute a Nepalese woman in court for aborting her child, pointing out that it is standard practice to charge an individual for any violation of the law if there is sufficient evidence.

English daily The Star reported the Attorney-General as saying that his chambers has to act on any case once an investigation paper is opened.

“If we have sufficient evidence to prove an offence has been committed and we are sure of a possible conviction in court, we will prefer charges,” he was reported telling the newspaper via a text message yesterday, when commenting on the case of 24-year-old Nirmala Thapa.

Last week, online news portal The Malaysian Insider (TMI) reported that the Bukit Mertajam Sessions Court in Penang had last month found Thapa guilty of terminating her pregnancy and sentenced her to a year’s jail.

According to TMI, the woman was six weeks pregnant when she went to a clinic in Bukit Mertajam on mainland Penang for the abortion on October 9.

The news portal reported that Thapa, a factory worker in the state was charged on October 13 under Section 315 of the Penal Code with preventing a child from being born alive.

It also quoted Dr Choong Sim Poey of the Reproductive Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia (RRAAM) as saying that Thapa was also the first woman in Malaysia to be thrown behind bars for undergoing an abortion.