Kota Kinabalu: A Filipino cook was sentenced by the High Court to 35 years' imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane after pleading guilty to murdering his Filipina wife at a restaurant workers' quarters in Jalan Pantai here in April 2023.
Judge Datuk Celestina Stuel Galid imposed the sentence on Arip Muktar, 31, after he admitted to murdering Belnita Abd Salleh between 5am and 8.30am on April 18, 2023, under Section 302 of the Penal Code, and ordered the jail term to run from the date of his arrest.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Dana A. Wazani said a co-worker heard the couple arguing and a woman screaming that morning, while Arip later told two female colleagues he had fought with his wife and advised them to return to Pulau Gaya before police found Belnita dead and Arip with a neck injury at the quarters.
The court was told a post-mortem examination found that Belnita died from asphyxia caused by compression to the neck, while the pathologist also identified injuries consistent with blunt force trauma that were not the cause of death.
In mitigation, defence counsel Mohd Al Hafidz Mohd Lokman sought a custodial sentence, citing Arip's guilty plea, remorse, cooperation with investigators and prospects of rehabilitation, while the prosecution urged a sentence above the statutory minimum, submitting that the offence involved a grave breach of trust against his pregnant wife and warranted a deterrent sentence.
