A single mother, who is suffering from chronic diabetes and has a 10-year-old daughter with hypoglycemia, wept when the Seremban Magistrate's Court freed her on a good behaviour bond for two years over a theft charge.

Magistrate Rahimah Rahim made the ruling after hearing Nor Farina Che Ya's appeal.

Nor Farina, who admitted to stealing several items from a supermarket in Seremban 2 last year, said that she did so because of poverty.

She stole mutton, turmeric leaves, a bottle of shampoo, ointment, undergarments, a pair of pants and a tudung (headscarf) amounting to RM262.86.

Charged under Section 380 of the Penal Code, she could have faced a maximum 10-year prison term, fine and whipping.

Nor Farina, 38, said she earned a living by selling discarded boxes and scrap items.

She also received government aid of RM150 a month, but this was not sufficient to make ends meet.

The single mother told the court that she also applied for Baitumal (welfare aid for Muslims), but was unsuccessful.

Nor Farina said she stole the items because she was desperate.

"I stole the mutton... lemon grass to make rendang... because I could not afford to (buy the items)," she told the court amid tears, according to Sinar Harian.

Nor Farina said she committed the act knowing it was a crime and a sin.

"I did not think of anything else except for my child's hunger. I told myself that I will bear the retribution for this sin..

"Like the clothes, I just wanted to know how it felt (to wear them). Not only for me, for my daughter as well," she told reporters later.

Meanwhile, Negri Sembilan Welfare Department director Mohamad Hapil said he would send an officer to investigate the single mother’s situation.

Whereas, Negri Sembilan Islamic Religious Council secretary Kamal Amran Kamarudin said they would determine the veracity of Nor Farina’s claim regarding her application for Baitulmal.