Baby Amiyah (pictured) tragically died in April after succumbing to an undiagnosed neurological issue
A Malaysian woman who tried to blackmail the parents of a dying baby to make some quick cash could soon be deported.
Jay and Dee Windross’ 11-month-old daughter Amiyah died in April, days after a mobile phone containing irreplaceable family pictures was stolen from a Melbourne shopping centre.
Siti Nurhidayah Kamal, 24, pleaded guilty in July to blackmailing the couple in the hours before and after little Amiyah’s death from an undiagnosed neurological condition.
She appeared in the County Court of Victoria for a pre-sentence hearing on Thursday where she was told she will face jail time and will likely be deported, 7news reported.
Baby Amiyah tragically died after succumbing to an undiagnosed neurological issue she fought since the day of her birth.
Siti Nurhidayah Kamal (pictured), 24, admitted to trying to blackmail $1,000 from the parents of the dying baby girl. She was refused bail amid fears she would attempt to flee the country
Kamal contacted Jay and Dee Windross (pictured outside Ringwood court in April after they made a desperate public plea for the return of the Samsung Galaxy S8 phone
Kamal had contacted Jay and Dee Windross after they made a desperate public plea for the return of the Samsung Galaxy S8 phone.
‘It’s despicable. It’s disgusting,’ Ms Windross said at the time.
‘Why would anyone do that and she knew the position we were in. You could tell by the messages. How could you be so disgraceful?’
Kamal had contacted the couple via whatsapp after they made several desperate posts on social media to help them retrieve the phone.
The couple believe the phone was stolen from the toilets next to Target at Chadstone Shopping Centre in April.
‘The hours that we spent holding our daughter, this woman was sitting in her own house demanding money from us,’ Ms Windross said outside court.
Kamal contacted the couple via whatsapp after they made several desperate posts on social media to help them retrieve the phone. Her husband is pictured leaving court
Ms Windross left her phone in a toilet cubicle at Melbourne’s Chadstone Shopping Centre on April 20, and her husband made a desperate plea on social media to have it returned
Ms Windross said she felt some relief Kamal had been jailed until her guilty plea (pictured: an emotional Ms Windross outside Ringwood’s court)
The Ringwood Magistrates’ Court in April heard Kamal and her husband had been working as Uber Eats deliverers earning $120 a day.
Her lawyer, Royce Dekker, said the couple left their children in Malaysia and had been trying to make ends meet when they fell on hard times and couldn’t pay the rent.
‘They’re earning more money than we are,’ Ms Windross said.
‘They earn more money then we’ve been living on on one wage each for 11 months and we have had to pay hospital bills, car parking – everything. Mortgage bills. And she’s in there crying because they don’t earn enough money.’
Kamal had contacted the couple as they spent their last precious moments with her.
Mr Windross said she continued to text him through the night while he had been trying to spend ‘every emotional minute’ with his child.
The court heard Kamal and her husband (pictured leaving court in April) had been struggling working as Uber delivery bike riders making $120 a day
Melbourne couple Jay and Dee Windross’ (pictured) 11-month-old daughter Amiyah had been fighting an ‘undiagnosed neurological issue from the day she was born’, and died in April
A woman tried to exploit the couple’s vulnerability by extorting $1000 out of them while their daughter was dying
Kamal’s husband (pictured centre) did not comment when he left court in April after his wife was refused bail
‘It was a hoax. Not only was it a complete and utter waste of my time, it was interrupting my final moments with my dying daughter,’ he wrote on Facebook.
Outside court, the couple again urged anyone who had the phone to make contact with them.
‘I don’t have my baby anymore, I can’t take anymore photos of my baby. I don’t care who you are,’ Ms Windross said.
‘Give it back … you don’t have to tell me who you are or where you are. Just put the phone somewhere and let someone know where it is so that I can have it back.’
Ms Windross’ phone has not yet been returned to her.
Kamal (pictured) had contacted the couple as they spent their last precious moments with their dying daughter
Outside the court, the couple again urged anyone who had the phone to make contact with them