Ex-IT staff found guilty of causing death in road rage incident

 

A former information technology (IT) employee was found guilty by the High Court today on a charge of causing the death of Syed Muhammad Danial Syed Shakir in a road rage incident on the North-South Highway (Plus) four years ago.

Judge Julia Ibrahim found Yew Wei Liang, 45, guilty after the prosecution proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code for causing death by negligence.

On July 20, Julia ordered Yew to enter his defence on the charge of killing Syed Muhammad Danial under Section 302 of the same law which covers murder, after the prosecution proved a prima facie case against him at the end of its case.

In today’s judgment, the judge said the accused failed to prove that there was a threat of bodily harm to himself and his wife from the deceased.

“However, based on all the testimonies, the court finds that the accused had a right to defend his property from acts of mischief, namely the damage to his Innova car by the deceased with a baseball bat, but it did not extend to causing his death.

“The court also finds that the testimonies of prosecution witnesses were not challenged throughout the defence’s case,” she said.

Julia set Dec 7 to hear any plea and submissions before sentencing.

On Aug 22, 2019, Yew was charged with the murder of Syed Muhammad Danial, 29, at kilometre 293.6 of the Plus Highway (Kuala Lumpur-Seremban) between 1pm and 2pm on Aug 10, 2019, under Section 320 of the Penal Code, which carries the death sentence.

The prosecution called 20 witnesses while the defence had two witnesses during the trial which started on Oct 27, 2021.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin, while Yew was represented by lawyer Wee Choo Keong.

- Bernama