Fiji-born Sofina Nikat, the mother who killed her 15-month-old daughter in Melbourne was spared extra jail time after she was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order by Victorian Supreme Court Justice Lex Lasry on Thursday.
Her estranged husband, Sameer Sahib, disappointed with the verdict, wants Nikat to be deported to Fiji.
The family felt let down after Sofina Nikat was allowed to walk free last week despite being found guilty of infanticide.
“I’ve been let down by the justice system, the government, the Crown.
“That someone can kill a baby and get away with it ... whatever time she gets, it’s not going to bring back my baby. I believe in the afterlife. She will have to answer to God,” Sameer told Herald Sun.
His sister, Zahraa Sahib told reporters outside the court, Nikat's sentence was unfair.
Source: AAP
"We have had no justice for her death, I don't think it's very fair that we've lost our little girl and there's nothing for her," she said.
Nikat pleaded guilty to infanticide over the April 2016 death of her daughter Sanaya Sahib. The maximum prison sentence for infanticide in Victoria is five years.
File image of Family members and mourners at a community vigil for murdered 14-month-old Sanaya Sahib from Friday, April 15, 2016 Source: AAP
Nikat served 529 days of pre-sentence detention after being charged over Sanaya's death, before she was released on bail in September.
Justice Lasry said he accepted evidence from a psychiatrist that Nikat was depressed when she suffocated Sanaya and threw her body into Darebin Creek.
Nikat was originally charged with murder but this was downgraded because of her depressive disorder.
On April 9, 2016 she told police a barefoot man of African appearance who smelled of alcohol had snatched Sanaya from her pram while they were at a Heidelberg West park.
Sofina Nikat is seen exiting the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Friday, September 22, 2017. Source: AAP
She woman later admitted she took the infant to the park and played with her before suffocating Sanaya until she stopped moving.
A family who joined the public search found Sanaya's body in Darebin Creek, and Nikat admitted what she did three days after the killing.
"It is a tragedy for you and everyone connected with your family," Justice Lasry said.
An undated image obtained from Facebook of missing 15-month-old Sanaya Sahib pictured with her mother Sofina Nikat. Source: AAP
"I accept that the way you acted after you had killed Sanaya was consistent with your irrational mental state."
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