Kota Kinabalu: A 59-year-old janitor was on Tuesday jailed 14 years by the High Court here for causing the death of his wife here, four years ago.
High Court Judicial Commissioner Amelati Parnell handed down the sentence to Sitimon Eging (pic) for committing the crime to one Lupini Moliu, 67, between 1.30am and 7.26pm on Aug 28, 2018 in a house at Kg Kopungit here. Sitimon was convicted on his guilty plea to the amended charge under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to 30 years and liability of a fine on conviction. He was originally charged with murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code which provides for death sentence on conviction. However, the court had on March 7 amended the original murder charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code to a lesser charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder by ruling that that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case on the original charge. The prosecution had called 13 witnesses throughout the trial at the prosecution’s stage.
Sitimon pleaded guilty to the amended charge and the court deferred the sentencing to March 15 following an application for another date by his counsel to prepare written submission.
Counsel Shahlan Jufri, who represented Sitimon, together with counsel Mohd Luqman Syazwan Zabidi Md Zain, requested for a minimum sentence of 12 years’ jail from the date of his arrest.
Shahlan submitted, among others, that Sitimon was a first time offender and had shown great remorse and apologised for his action.
Sitimon wished to apologise to the victim’s family for her death as a result of his action, said Shahlan, adding that by pleading guilty to the amended charge had saved judicial time and costs of calling witnesses without proceeding for full trial.
Prior to the offence, Sitimon was a good husband, loving and caring for the victim, said Shahlan, adding that Sitimon along with his brother got her to the hospital for treatment.
Sitimon also attempted suicide after realising that his action had resulted in the death of his soulmate, added Shahlan. Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Azreen Yas Mohamad Ramli pressed for a deterrent sentence to be imposed.
The present case involves the loss of a life which was the life of Sitimon’s wife, who was beaten up by him for a mere reason that he went home feeling hungry and found nothing to eat, said DPP Azreen.
“From the testimony of the prosecution’s witnesses, it showed that the accused had frequent argument with the deceased and later fight between them ensued.
“It is only suitable for the court to impose a high imprisonment sentence to portray the seriousness of the offence,” said DPP Azreen.
DPP Azreen also submitted that the court should consider the fact that Sitimon had beaten up Lupini who suffered from stroke and high-blood pressure.
“The fact that the accused was drunk that night is also another factor that the court should consider to give a higher punishment since this incident could be avoided if the accused were not drunk,” said Azreen.
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