PUTRAJAYA: A former bus driver was sentenced to a maximum of 40 years in jail and ordered to be whipped 12 times for the gruesome murder of his girlfriend seven years ago.
A three-member Federal Court bench chaired by Chief Judge of Malaya Zabidin Diah used its discretion to impose the death penalty or a custodial sentence following the passing of a law by Parliament, which came into effect early this month.
Zabidin said they maintained the conviction of M Siva Sangker, 39, but allowed for the variation in sentence after hearing submissions.
“There are no appealable errors made by the lower courts and the conviction is safe,” said Zabidin, who sat with Justices Mary Lim and Abu Bakar Jais.
Judges can impose a jail term of between 30 and 40 years for murder and a minimum of 12 strokes of the rotan under the new Act.
In April 2021, the High Court in Johor Bahru sentenced Siva Sangker to death after he was found guilty of killing V Durga Devi, 23, a cleaner at the Changi International Airport in Singapore.
He committed the offence at Jalan Kancil 1 in Taman Scientex, Pasir Gudang, Johor at 12.15pm on Nov 21, 2016.
The Court of Appeal affirmed the conviction last year.
Trial judge Shahnaz Sulaiman had dismissed the defence of alibi by Siva Sangker, who claimed he was in Masai, Johor, when the incident took place.
She said the defence was a mere denial and an afterthought.
Deputy public prosecutor How May Ling today submitted that the deceased suffered 49 injuries, including three to the neck and head that caused her death.
She said that after slashing the victim, Siva Sangker continued to chase her and continued the attack.
“He committed a gruesome murder in broad daylight and in front of other civilians who were afraid to intervene,” she said, adding that Siva Sangker clearly demonstrated a blatant disregard for the sanctity of human life.
How said the punishment must be proportionate to the gravity of the crime, and that was the death penalty.
Lawyer Rajpal Singh, who appeared for Siva Sangker for the first time in the apex court, said the previous lawyer was incompetent and failed to present a defence for the trial judge’s consideration.
He said his client was remorseful and extended his apology to the victim’s family.
The motive for the crime was not revealed in court.
Rajpal urged the court to impose a jail term as Siva Sangker is a father of five and his family could visit him in prison if he is spared the death sentence.
“Let him be behind bars and endure the pain of being whipped,” he said, adding that most murder cases were gruesome in nature. - FMT
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