SIBU: A 49-year-old man was on Thursday (Sept 10) formally charged in the Magistrates’ Court here with murdering a five-year-old boy, with the prosecution telling the court that several key forensic and psychiatric reports are still outstanding before the case can proceed to the High Court.
Abdool Malex Mahidin from Jalan Astana Petra Jaya, Kuching, appeared before Magistrate Romario Jonoi to face the fresh charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code over the death of Nufayl Nurrahim at a house in Rantau Panjang Jaya here on Aug 28.
The charge states that Abdool Malex allegedly committed murder by causing Nufayl’s death at about 1.40pm at a house at Rantau Panjang Jaya.
The charge was read and explained to the accused.
However, no plea was taken on the murder charge as the consent of the Public Prosecutor required under Section 177A of the Criminal Procedure Code had yet to be obtained.
Deputy public prosecutor Mark Kenneth Netto told the court that the prosecution was still completing investigations and awaiting several reports before the matter could be considered by the Public Prosecutor.
Among the outstanding reports are the post-mortem report, chemist’s report and psychiatric report.
Netto therefore applied for the murder charge to be read and explained to the accused under Section 177A(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code without taking his plea or seeking transmission of the case to the High Court at this stage.
He said the prosecution would return to court once the requisite consent had been obtained and address the issue of transmitting the case to the High Court.
The prosecution also sought for Abdool Malex to remain in custody pending completion of the outstanding investigations and the obtaining of the Public Prosecutor’s consent.
Magistrate Romario subsequently fixed Oct 22 for further mention of the case to monitor the status of the Public Prosecutor’s consent and the outstanding investigative reports.
The murder charge is punishable under Section 302 of the Penal Code by death or imprisonment for a term of not less than 30 years and not more than 40 years, with whipping of not less than 12 strokes where the death penalty is not imposed.
On the same day, Abdool Malex also faced a separate charge under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952 for allegedly self-administering dangerous drugs.
According to the charge, he allegedly administered amphetamine and methamphetamine to himself at about 8pm on Aug 28 at the Narcotics Criminal Investigation Division office at Sibu Central Police Station.
The offence is punishable under Section 15(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which provides for a fine of up to RM5,000 or imprisonment for a term of up to two years upon conviction.
The charge also carries a supervision order under Section 38B of the same Act.
The drug charge was likewise read and explained to the accused.
The prosecution informed the court that the pathology report relating to the drug offence had yet to be obtained.
Netto therefore applied for the matter to be fixed for further mention for the tendering of the facts and to proceed with sentencing, as well as to monitor the status of the outstanding pathology report.
No separate bail consideration was sought, with the prosecution submitting that Abdool Malex was already being held in custody in connection with the murder charge.
The court fixed Oct 22 for further proceedings.
The accused was not represented by counsel during today’s proceedings.
The murder investigation follows the death of five-year-old Nufayl on Aug 28.
The proceedings before the Magistrates’ Court were procedural in nature and did not involve a determination of guilt. The allegations against Abdool Malex remain to be proven in court.
