Fisherman jailed 15 years for culpable homicide
KOTA KINABALU: A fisherman was sentenced to 15 years in jail by the Sessions Court here yesterday for committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Sessions Court judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamed passed the sentence on Mohd Faizal Johari, 20, after he pleaded guilty as charged under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code.
The indictment carries a jail term which may extend to 30 years, and shall also be liable to a fine, if the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death, or of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.
Mohd Faizal was found to have committed culpable homicide not amounting to murder of Filipino Madzmin Sampang, 22, in front of the company premises in Taman Tanjong Kapor, Kudat between 7pm and 10pm on August 8, 2017.
He was ordered to serve his jail sentence from the date of his arrest.
In mitigation, Mohd Faizal, who was not represented, said he came from a poor family and wanted to have his own family in the future.
Deputy public prosecutor Hafizah Zahidah Abdullah urged the court to impose a deterrent sentence on the accused as he had committed a serious offence of taking an innocent life and had not shown any mercy during the act.
Therefore, she said, the accused did not deserve mercy from the court and pressed for the court to take into account public interest, especially the family of the victim.
The facts of the case stated that the Kudat police headquarters had received a call from Kudat Hospital informing that a man without identification documents had suffered injury at his back.
The police were further informed that the man, who was later identified as Madzmin, did not survive the treatment and was pronounced dead at 3.45 pm.
Later, police arrested Mohd Faizal and further investigation revealed that he had stabbed the victim with a folder knife, witnessed by a person.