SIBU, September 23 — The High Court here today sentenced a youth to life imprisonment after convicting him of four counts of murder under Section 302 and one attempted murder under section 307 of the Penal Code.  

The youth, 19, was found guilty of murdering businessman Ling Tong Hock, 36, Ling’s 76-year-old mother Leong Nyuk Lan, son David Ling Chei Qi, 10 and daughter Amy Ling Zi Jiun, 7, by bludgeoning them to death with a steel hammer.

He was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Ling’s other son Kelvin Ling Chei You in their house at RTM Road about 7 am on January 3, 2012.   

In her judgement, Judge Supang Lian said that at the time of the offence, the youth was only 17 years and seven month old and as such was defined as a ‘child’ under Section 2 of the Child Act 2011.

“That said, for the four murder charges, pursuant to Section 97 (1) of the Child Act 2001, a death sentence shall not be pronounced or recorded against the accused.

“Pursuant to Section 97(2) of the same Act, there is only one sentence in lieu of a death sentence. The court shall order a person convicted of murder to be detained in a prison at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertua Negeri of the state of Sarawak,” she said.

Whereas, for the attempted murder charge the maximum penalty prescribed by the law was 20 years imprisonment, she added.

Supang said: “The report prepared by Dr.Zul Imran Malek Abdul Hamid showed that the victim (Kelvin Ling) had suffered horrendous wounds likely inflicted by repeated blows with a sharp instrument like the head of a hammer used at an angle.

“It seems to me that this was a frenzied attack and it was no less than a miracle that the victim not only survived the ordeal but went on to make a full recovery,” she said.

“Nonetheless, it was still a crime of great magnitude where much pain had been inflicted be it physical or emotional and psychological as alluded in the victim’s impact statement,” she said. 

Supang said welfare officer Ali Taha Ayang’s report, “paints a picture of a withdrawn young person who preferred solitary activities rather than interacting with others and severely lacking maturity in thought.”

“These observations tie in with the psychiatric observation report from Sentosa Hospital director Dr.Lau Kim Kah in Kuching which stated he suffers from Asperger’s Disorder, based on the accused’s impairment in social interaction, restricted and stereotyped behaviours, resulting in significant impairment in social, occupational and psychological functions.”

She also noted that according to evidence at the trial and background checks by Ali Taha, the accused’s family “in all probability is largely dysfunctional” due to the long absence of the father who works in Papua New Guinea.”

“To my mind the accused could be a danger to others if not confined in custody,” she elaborated. 

She said although he had been sentenced to life imprisonment, the law still required a sentence for the fifth charge and therefore meted out eight years in prison to run concurrently with the murder charges sentence. 

Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Franklin Ganggan Bennet represented DPP Musli Ab.Hamid at the sentencing while Daren Ling appeared for the defence. — Bernama