2 ex-students convicted of murder, detained at sultan’s pleasure

 High Court says the boy and girl, aged 15 and 14 at the time of the offence, failed to raise a reasonable doubt to the prosecution's case.

The Taiping High Court, relying on Section 97(2) of the Child Act 2001, did not impose the death penalty as the duo were minors at the time the offence was committed. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 The High Court in Taiping has ordered two former students to be detained at the pleasure of the Sultan of Perak for murder seven years ago.

The duo – a boy and a girl – murdered her brother, identified only as “SM”, on July 5, 2019, at the family’s home in Kamunting.

They are now aged 22 and 21; they were 15 and 14 when the offence was committed.

Justice Noor Ruwena Nurdin, in finding them guilty of murder, ordered that they be detained pursuant to Section 97(2) of the Child Act 2001, in substitution for the death penalty, since they were minors at the time the offence was committed.

She said the two accused had, in the court’s judgment, failed to raise a reasonable doubt to the prosecution’s case, adding that SM’s death was a premeditated murder.

According to the facts of the case, police found SM’s remains, wrapped in plastic and tightly bound with yellow raffia string, at the backdoor of a neighbour’s house.

Dr Shafie Othman, a forensic pathologist from Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, Ipoh, said SM died of excessive bleeding due to a stab wound on his neck. He also found multiple wounds on the victim’s limbs.

During the trial, the court heard that SM disliked his sister’s circle of friends.

One of the witnesses in that circle testified that the boy had expressed an intention to murder SM because the victim liked to harass their friends.

The witness told the court the female accused returned her video call on July 5, during which she saw SM lying on the bed, with the male accused sitting on top of SM.

She said she saw blood stains on the male accused’s clothes, which she found terrifying.

In their defence, both accused claimed that it was impossible for them to overpower SM because of his large build.

However, Ruwena held the defence to be no more than a bare denial.

“I agree with the expert opinion (by the forensic pathologist) that given the right opportunity, and may I add, ‘brains’ too, a small-built person could overpower a bigger opponent and incapacitate him, and then deliver the fatal blow.

“I cannot imagine the pain, despair, and helplessness the deceased must have felt as he slowly bled to death,” she said.

The court also described the two accused as “smart children” who knew what they were doing.

“The male accused could not get anyone to drive a car to dispose the body elsewhere and they just left it very near the crime scene after making some effort to cover the body so that it would not be discovered immediately,” Ruwena said.

The judge also noted that neither accused had shown any remorse for what they did.

“A life has been lost tragically and unnecessarily. They must now pay for their crime,” she said. - FMT