KUCHING: Two friends pleaded not guilty in the High Court here today to a charge of murdering their friend following a misunderstanding while drinking alcohol.
Tan Poh Cheng, 30, and Alexon Julai Robinson, 25, made the plea after the charge was read before Judge Faridz Gohim Abdullah.
Based on the charge, both of them were alleged to have intentionally caused the death of a 24-year-old man at a workers’ quarters in Kampung Sungai Engkabang at 5.30 pm on Jun 22.
They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Code, which provides for the death penalty, or imprisonment of not less than 30 years and not more than 40 years if the death penalty is not imposed, along with not less than 12 strokes of the cane.
Faridz fixed Dec 10 for case management and no bail was granted as the offence is non-bailable.
It is understood that during the incident, Tan, Alexon, the victim and several friends were drinking at the workers’ quarters during their weekend break.
A quarrel reportedly broke out when one of the accused suspected the victim of having an affair with his wife and owing him money, which led to the victim being assaulted until he lost consciousness.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Azhari Yusof appeared for the prosecution, while the accused were represented by court-appointed lawyers Simon Siah and Yong Suk Hui.
