A personal bodyguard has been sentenced to death after the High Court found him guilty for murdering his employer and two others in a shooting incident that took place four years ago, along the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.
As reported by Bernama, Judge Datuk Abdul Wahab Mohamed handed down the death sentence on Ja’afar Halid, 41, after finding that the defence had failed to raise and establish reasonable doubts against the prosecution’s case.
He was convicted of killing his employer, who is businessman, Datuk Ong Teik Kwong, 32, and two other individuals, Choi Hoi Ming, 32, and Senthil Murugiah, 38, by shooting them with a firearm at the entrance to the Penang Bridge on the highway on 1 Dec 2016.
For each offence, he was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which if convicted could result in a mandatory death sentence.
The court also sentenced him to 15 years in prison on five charges (each for 15 years in prison) for attempted murder by shooting five individuals, Lee Hong Boon, 59, in the left chest; Nurul Huda Ab Aziz, 42, on the shoulder; Puah Bee Joo, 36, on the shoulder; Mohamad Amirul Amin Mohamed Amer, 32, on the left chest and K. Arivarni, 37, on the head.
The sentence runs concurrently starting from the date he was arrested Dec 1, 2016.
Abdul Wahab explained his decision by saying that the accused’s statement stating that he did not remember what was done during the incident was not acceptable because based on the evidence during the prosecution stage showed the accused had the intention to do so.
Apart from that, he said the court also rejected the reason that the accused was insane because he thought that the evidence submitted found that the attack by the accused was targeted.
Abdul Wahab said according to the defence witness, who is a doctor, confirmed that the accused was indeed taking drugs due to his dependence and addiction to the substance, which he had been taking since he was 12 years old.
According to him, the allegation that the accused had a mental problem was also rejected even though the accused had been receiving treatment for several months before the incident.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Noor Azura Zulkiflee, while the accused was represented by lawyer Y. Anbanathan.
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