KOTA KINABALU, April 30 — A High Court here yesterdaysentenced a foreign man to 40 years’ jail plus 12 strokes of the cane for murdering a Grab driver five years ago.
Justice Leonard David Shim imposed the sentence on Arsit Indanan, 23, after finding the latter guilty of a charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
In his reserved decision, the judge held that the defence had failed to cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case.
Arsit, who was represented by government-assigned counsel Mohd Ari Nadzrah Abd Rahman, was ordered to serve his jail term from the date of his arrest.
Muhammad Hanafiee Jaffar, 27, was killed by Arsit inside a car at the roadside of Jalan Marabahai in Tuaran between 4am and 5am on May 25, 2019.
Previously, Arsit, who is undocumented, was jointly charged with his friend Amru Al Asy Japri, 27, when both of them were passengers of the deceased on the incident day.
However, on January 31, 2023, Amru was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal by the same court from the murder charge.
Amru had written a representation letter through his lawyers to the deputy public prosecutor’s office and it was accepted.
He then became the first witness to testify against Arsit in the prosecution stage trial.
The prosecution had succeeded to establish a prima facie case against Arsit, who was then called to answer his defence.
For Arsit’s defence, the judge ruled among others on Monday that it was an afterthought, a bare denial and lack of credible evidence.
The prosecution had called 23 witnesses to testify against Arsit since the trial commenced on May 8, 2023. — The Borneo Post
