Ex-soldier jailed 23 years over death of newly-wed wife
SIBU: A former soldier charged with beating his newly-wed wife to death was yesterday sentenced by the High Court here to 23 years in jail after he pleaded guilty to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Muhammad Azam Abdullah, 27, faced an amended charged under Section 304(A) of the Penal Code which provides for an imprisonment term which may extend to 30 years, and shall also be liable to fine.
He was originally charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, which provides for a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
In passing the sentence, Justice Supang Lian said the accused was expected to be the protector and provider of the deceased.
“Instead, over the span of four days from Feb 2, 2016 until Feb 6, 2016, he had subjected her to cruel beatings resulting in horrific injuries that caused her death.
“In my view, this was a particularly cruel manner of dying at the hands of her husband. Public interest demands that the sentence should reflect the gravity of the offence committed,” she said.
Supang added that the 23
In my view, this was a particularly cruel manner of dying at the hands of her husband. Public interest demands that the sentence should reflect the gravity of the offence committed.
years’ jail from the date of arrest would be the appropriate and just sentence.
The accused is to serve his sentence at Melaka Prison.
In mitigation, defence counsel Rosli Gapor said the accused was a first-time offender and had been honest to own up to his mistake by pleading guilty.
He urged the court to consider that the accused had two children, aged five and six, from his previous marriage whom he needed to support.
Rosli further said the accused had expressed remorse over what happened and regretted that the offence had caused the loss of life of his wife.
Meanwhile, deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Tajul Ariffin Musa told the court that the offence was very serious in nature since it involved the life
Justice Supang Lian
of a person, and that the demand of the public should outweigh the mitigating factor of the accused.
The offence was committed between 6pm on Feb 2, 2016 and 3.57am on Feb 6, 2016 at Rascom Camp, Mile 10, at Jalan Oya, which caused the death of Siti Maziah Esai, 22, whom Muhammad Azam wed about two weeks earlier.