KUCHING: The Magistrates’ Court here has fixed July 9 for the re-mention of a case involving a Bukit Aman traffic policeman charged with killing a man by shooting him during an incident along Jalan Stephen Yong in April.
Magistrate Ling Hui Chuan set the new date after the prosecution informed the court that the chemical and forensic reports were not yet available.
Prosecuting officer Insp Nur Shafiqa Nyaie Ilin told the court that the ballistics and autopsy reports are expected to take around two months to be completed.
However, defence counsel Russell Lim from the National Legal Aid Foundation (YBGK), representing the accused Genesis Nitchell David Reddy, 30, requested for an earlier date to be fixed, to allow the prosecution to update the court on the progress of the case.
Lim noted that the case was high-profile and involved public interest.
That said, the court fixed July 9 for the next mention and ordered that the accused remain in remand pending further proceedings.
According to the charge sheet, Genesis is charged with murdering Muhammad Zaki Iderus, 34, by allegedly shooting him at Jalan Stephen Yong on April 26.
The charge, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, carries the mandatory death penalty or imprisonment of up to 40 years and up to 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
On the morning of April 26, two men brought their friend, who had sustained a gunshot wound to the head, to the Batu Kawa police station at around 5.30am.
The incident was said to have occurred while the men were travelling in a car along Jalan Stephen Yong, with the victim seated as a passenger.
It is understood that the incident stemmed from a dispute between the suspect’s vehicle and the car the victim was in. The firearm used was believed to be issued to the accused, a police officer.
The case was investigated by ASP Sylvarius Gopog while the accused is represented by counsels from YBGK, Russell Lim, Zoe Chan, and Brendan Ting.
