Widow faces hanging for murder

A BRITISH woman has been charged with murdering her husband on the Malaysian holiday island of Langkawi.

Samantha Jones (51) appeared in court on the island accused of killing John William Jones (62), who was found with a stab wound to the chest in their house earlier this month.

A court official read out the charge of murder – which has a mandatory sentence of death by hanging in Malaysia – and Ms Jones indicated she understood it but did not enter a plea as the case will be transferred to the High Court.

She is accused of committing the murder in the early hours of October 18. Her lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo said the suspect felt “very, very overwhelmed”. “It is her husband at the end of the day. So she’s also grieving for him despite the circumstances of the case.”

The couple had lived for 11 years on the jungle-clad island in north-west Malaysia. Jones is accused of killing her husband after a row. Police said a bloodstained 12-inch (30cm) knife had been found following her arrest.