The Court of Appeal has sentenced a lorry driver and a plantation worker to 18 years in prison each for culpable homicide, overturning their earlier five-year terms.
PUTRAJAYA: A lorry driver and an oil palm plantation worker were each sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Court of Appeal today after being convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder of their friend in 2019.
A three-judge panel led by Justice Datuk Noorin Badaruddin allowed the prosecution’s cross-appeal, setting aside the men’s earlier convictions under Section 304(b) of the Penal Code and substituting them with a conviction under the more serious Section 304(a).
The panel also dismissed both men’s own appeals against their conviction and sentence, issuing a warrant of committal for them to begin serving their sentences from today.
Delivering the court’s unanimous decision, Justice Noorin ruled that the Sessions Court judge had erred in reducing the charge to Section 304(b) of the Penal Code.
Section 304(a) covers culpable homicide committed with the intention of causing death or bodily injury likely to cause death, providing for imprisonment of up to 30 years and liability to caning.
In contrast, Section 304(b) carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment for offences committed without the intention to cause death but with the knowledge that death is likely.
Justice Noorin ruled that the use of weapons, combined with targeting the deceased’s head, gave rise to an irresistible inference that the men intended to cause bodily injury likely to result in death.
She further held that their conduct during the assault, including leaving the deceased in a vulnerable condition, supported the inference that they were indifferent to the fatal consequences of their actions.
Chua Li Pin, 46, and Song Chun Ru, 42, were initially charged alongside another suspect who remains at large with committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder of Lee Meng Hun, 40.
The offence took place in front of Kebun Babike, Jalan Johor, Kampung Setia Jaya, Batu Pahat, Johor, between 4 pm on Dec 1, 2019, and 10 pm on Dec 2, 2019.
According to the facts of the case, both men had gone to Lee’s house to collect a debt and assaulted him with a wooden stick and a metal rod after he said he could not pay.
On Aug 6, 2023, the Sessions Court convicted them under Section 304(b) and sentenced each to five years in prison, a decision later upheld by the High Court on July 3 last year.
The panel, which also comprised Justices Datuk Hayatul Akmal Abdul Aziz and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, ordered the men to begin serving their sentences immediately.
They had previously been released on bail of RM25,000 with one surety, with a stay of execution pending the disposal of their appeal.
Deputy Public Prosecutor How May Ling appeared for the prosecution, while lawyers Chong Yik Loong and Chin Kut Hee represented both men.
