Masseur jailed 25 years, fined for causing death of colleague

KOTA KINABALU: A 26-yearold masseur was sentenced to 25 years in jail and fined RM5,000, in default, six months’ jail for causing the death of his female colleague.

Sessions Court judge Noor Hafizah Mohd Salim imposed the sentence on Jestery Ayang after finding the accused guilty of the offence yesterday.

She held that the accused had failed to raise any reasonable doubts against the prosecution’s case.

In imposing the sentence, the judge added that the accused had gone through a full trial and took into consideration the seriousness of the offence and public interest.

Jestery, who stood in the accused dock, looked calm as he listened to the sentence meted to him.

He was also ordered to serve the custodial sentence from the date of his arrest on October 10, 2016.

Jestery had committed culpable homicide not amounting to the murder of Norfazlina Abantas, 19, in a workers’ room of Borneo Spa, Jalan Mat Salleh, Tanjung Aru between 12.01am and 1am on October 9, 2016.

The offence was framed under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to 30 years and also liable to a fine upon conviction.

Jestery in his mitigation through his counsel Datuk Maijol Mahap, prayed for his jail sentence to be imposed of not more than 15 years.

Maijol said his client who is from a poor family, came to the city here to look for a job in order to support himself and his family.

He said Jestery has a wife and a two-year-old son as well as parents who are not healthy.

Deputy public prosecutor Dinesh Raja, however, urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence against the accused on the grounds that he had committed a serious offence and was found guilty after a full trial.

The offence resulted in the demise of an innocent victim and there was evidence suggested that the accused had bothered the victim, he said.

Dinesh also urged the court to take into consideration public interest, the victim and her (the victim’s) family.