Plantation Worker Escapes The Gallows

TAIPING, June 6 (Bernama) -- An oil palm plantation worker escaped the death penalty after the High Court here today sentenced him to seven years in prison on an amended charge of manslaughter of a detainee at Taiping Prison, six years ago.

Judge Noor Ruwena Md. Nurdin sentenced Mohd Nizam Shah Shahruddin, 40, to seven years in prison without a fine after the accused pleaded guilty to the amended charge from Section 302 of the Penal Code to Section 304b of the same code, which is manslaughter.

The prison sentence on the accused was set to start from the date of his arrest, which was on August 29, 2019, after he was suspected of causing the death of Chua Teng Wooi, 41, at the Taiping Prison Remand Cell, here, at 9.30 pm the same day.

Noor Ruwena said the sentence was handed down after examining the facts of the case and the arguments of the prosecution and defence as well as the statements of the accused and witnesses called in relation to the case.

He said the court found that Mohd Nizam had succeeded in raising a reasonable doubt that he did not intend to kill the victim but was angry with the victim’s actions and only wanted to teach a lesson.

According to Noor Ruwena, from the testimony of the accused and several other witnesses, the victim was beaten up by a mob while in the remand cell because he often defecated everywhere due to diarrhoea.

He said the doubts raised included whether the actions of the accused and other detainees caused injuries to the victim's lungs, which was the cause of death.

This was because there was witness testimony that the injuries may have occurred when the victim fell in the prison toilet due to the dark conditions of the detention cell.

"The accused's statement was not challenged that he woke up other inmates to help the deceased who fell in the toilet and also lifted the deceased, the affidavit that there were (other) people who also beat the deceased was not challenged," he said.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Sally Chay Mei Ling, while counsel Rajit Singh Tara Singh represented the accused.

-- BERNAMA