Kota Kinabalu: A former reality TV cooking show finalist, charged together with her husband in the murder of their maid, was granted bail by the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal Panel comprising Justices Datuk Lee Swee Seng, Datuk Supang Lian who sat with Justice Datuk M. Gunalan made the unanimous decision on Etiqah Siti Noorashikeen Mohd Sulong’s (pic) application to be released on bail after hearing submissions from both parties.
The proceedings were conducted via Zoom on Tuesday.
The panel, in delivering the decision, stated that they found merits in the application and special circumstances justifying the exercise of its discretion to grant bail.
Etiqah was granted bail of RM30,000 for security to be deposited at the Magistrate Court with one local surety, surrender her passport and all travel documents to the Kota Kinabalu Magistrate Court, and reporting to police station in Penampang on the first Monday of every week at 12pm.
On Dec 29, 2021, Petronas engineer Etiqah, 34, and her contractor husband Mohammad Ambree Yunos @ Unos, 40, were charged at the Magistrate’s Court with the murder of one Nur Afiyah Daeng Damin, between Dec 10 and 13, 2021 at a unit in Amber Tower, Lido Avenue, Jalan Lintas Lido, Penampang.
The charge, under Section 302 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 34 of the same Code, carries the death sentence on conviction.
No plea was taken from them as their plea would only be taken once their case was transferred to the High Court.
The couple was ordered to be remanded further as the charge against them has no provision for bail.
Previously, Etiqah’s counsel Dato Seri Rakhbir Singh had applied for bail but it was rejected by the Magistrate’s court and appealed for a revision in the High Court which was also rejected.
Rakhbir then appealed for a revision of the High Court’s decision to the Court of Appeal.
Earlier, Rakhbir in his grounds of application, among others, submitted about Etiqah’s health condition in which she is suffering from anxiety and depression, has three young children who were seeing a child therapist for mild case of autism and speech delay, and no one in her family to look after her children as her (Etiqah) parents were also unwell.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar and DPP Khairul Aisamuddin appeared for the respondent.
Etiqah was seen in tears outside the courtroom and thanked the Court of appeal and her counsel.
Rakhbir said Etiqah had posted the bail on late Tuesday afternoon.
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