‘Heartless’ blackmailer to be jailed, likely deported for exploiting grieving parents
A cruel Malaysian woman who tried to “make a quick buck” off grieving Melbourne parents just days before their baby daughter died, has been told by a judge she will be sentenced to jail time and likely deported.
Law & Order
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An “incomprehensibly heartless” woman who blackmailed a grieving couple as they cradled their dying daughter in their arms was simply desperate to “make a quick buck”.
Siti Kamal, 25, has admitted to exploiting the parents of a terminally ill 11-month-old girl, after she falsely claimed to have their lost phone which contained hundreds of precious photos and videos of their baby.
Kamal, a Malaysian national, berated father Jay Windcross in a series of Whatsapp messages on 23rd April this year, threatening to delete the photos if he did not transfer her $1,000.
The cruel texts came as the grieving father and his wife Dee were holding their baby Amiyah as their child’s heart was “slowly beating less and less”.
Even after Mr Windcross told Kamal his daughter had died, she continued to demand money – despite never having the phone.
Mr Windcross told the County Court today he had lost trust in people after falling prey to the young woman.
“You gave us hope … there was finally a tiny light of possibility,” he said in a victim impact statement read to the court.
“There is not a word in the English dictionary to describe the person you are,
“And it pains me to call you a person,” he said.
Ms Windcross said she is painfully reminded of her daughter’s final moments every time she hears Kamal’s name.
“If a woman, a mother could do this … how can I trust anyone again?” Ms Windcross said, turning to stare down Kamal in the dock.
“Not only did I have my daughter cruelly ripped from me by death, but (then) all the hope ... I would get thousands of memories back … was also ripped from me,” she said.
The intellectually disabled UberEats rider sent Mr Windcross dozens of messages over 24 hours after seeing his mobile number on a public Facebook post appealing for the person who took his wife’s phone from Chadstone shopping centre to return it.
Barrister Rahmin de Krester, for Kamal, said his client had made a “series of terrible mistakes” during an opportunistic and unsophisticated crime.
But Judge Liz Gaynor said she had “real problems” with Kamal’s actions being referred to as mistakes.
“It was a cruel and criminal hoax,
“It was emotional cruelty … the situation the Windcross’ were in could hardly have been more difficult,” Judge Gaynor said.
The court heard Kamal, who had been in Melbourne for about four months at the time of offending, had an IQ of just 68, which classified her as intellectually disabled.
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Judge Gaynor said she was unable to consider a sentence without first receiving more information about Kamal’s intellectual and moral culpability.
However her honour said there was no doubt her sentence will be a term of imprisonment.
“She will go to jail,” Judge Gaynor said.
Kamal, who has been on remand since she was arrested on April 26, has spent the majority of her time in protection after inmates became aware of her offending, the court heard.
Kamal is likely to be deported upon her release from custody.
She will return to court in February.