Duo discharged, acquitted of murdering businessman in Kuching

KUCHING: The High Court here yesterday discharged and acquitted two men of a charge of murdering a businessman in 2019.

Judge Dato Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the two accused – a 41-year-old businessman from Bintulu, and 32-year-old man from Miri.

Both were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the death penalty upon conviction.

They were discharged and acquitted without calling for their defence.

According to the charge, the two together with four male Chinese nationals are accused of murdering Tang Tung Kuok, 37, between 10.30pm on Jan 12 and around 9am on Jan 15, at an abandoned house at Jalan Ong Tiang Swee.

In his judgement, Alwi said among other things, there were no eyewitnesses to the act and the prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence to prove that the offence was committed by the two men.

Alwi said in his view, the circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution was not strong enough to show that the two had any role in the murder of the victim.

“During the trial, the police witnesses who were involved in the investigation and the retrieval of exhibits (Witness 28) and the investigating officer (Witness 37), both testified that the Chinese national was the prime suspect in the murder of the businessman.

“They even admitted in their evidence that the investigation into this case was incomplete without the arrest of the four China nationals. In my view, the circumstantial evidence adduced by the prosecution was not strong enough to irresistibly point to the two accused of any role in the murder of the deceased.

“Having subjected the prosecution evidence to maximum evaluation, I find that no prima facie case has been made out.

“As such, based on this finding, I order the first and the second accused be discharged and acquitted from the charge. Order accordingly,” he said during yesterday’s proceedings.

It is reported that the victim sustained serious injuries to the chest after being stabbed with a knife, and later succumbed to the injuries.

It is also said that the four Chinese nationals were in the state for a business meeting with the victim.

The Chinese nationals had also tasked one of the accused to be their translator, besides buying camping equipment such as knives, ropes and longsleeved shirts for camping, while the other accused was tasked with being their driver.

The first accused was represented by lawyers Roger Chin and Michael Kong, while the other was represented by lawyers Voon Lee Shan and Alex Kong.

The previous prosecution was handled by DPP Ronie Entili before the case was taken over by DPP Aidatul Azura Zainal Abidin.

A total of 38 prosecuting witnesses were brought in for the trial, which started in 2019.