KOTA KINABALU: A 27-year-old man who murdered his father was sentenced to 35 years in jail and was ordered to receive 12 strokes of the cane by the High Court here.
Judicial Commissioner Amelati Parnell convicted and sentenced Arnold Liew Kim Choi under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Liew was found guilty of murdering the man, aged 65, at 2.30pm on June 17, 2020 in a house at Kampung Bantayan Tamparuli in Tuaran.
The prosecution had called 12 witnesses while the defence produced five witnesses during trial.
In mitigation, counsel Ronny Cham submitted that the victim in this case was the accused's father and that he must have experienced mental and physical torture after what happened.
He also submitted that it was an unfortunate that the accused was under the influence of drugs.
He urged the court to consider that whatever happened cannot be considered heinous.
He asked the court to consider 30 years for imprisonment and not the death penalty.
In reply, deputy public prosecutor Azreen Yas Mohamad Ramli asked for the death penalty to be imposed on the accused.
She stressed that the court must give the highest consideration to public interest, which surpasses the accused's interest.
She said the victim suffered multiple injuries which caused fractures and one of the victim's hands was amputated.
"The abolition of the Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 provides the discretion for the court to impose a death sentence or imprisonment for a term of not less than 30 years but not exceeding 40 years and if not sentenced to death, one shall also be punished with whipping of not less than 12 strokes of the cane. Therefore, the court has the discretion either to pass a death sentence or imprisonment sentence."
