MALAYSIA: APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE OF MAID'S KILLER

July 18, 2012: In Malaysia, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and death sentence handed down by the Shah Alam High Court two years ago on a night market trader for the murder of Indonesian maid, Muntik Bani.
A three-man bench led by Justice Datuk Seri Mohamed Apandi Ali, in a unanimous decision, said the bench agreed that the finding of the facts by the presiding High Court judge was right and there was no ground to change it.
He said they disagreed with the submission by lawyer Hisham Teh Poh Teik, representing the appellant (A. Murugan), that Murugan should be charged for causing death by negligence under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code, instead of for murder.
Sitting with Mohamed Apandi were judges Datuk Alizatul Khair Osman Khairuddin and Datuk Mokhtaruddin Baki.Murugan did not show any reaction when the court gave its verdict.
He was charged with murdering Muntik, 38, at a house in Jalan Datuk Yusof Shahbudin 6, Taman Sentosa, Klang, between Oct 18 and 20, 2009.
Muntik, who hailed from Surabaya, died at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) in Klang about a week later. (Sources: Bernama, 18/07/2012)