SERIAN: The Magistrate’s Court here fined an elderly man RM6,000, in default eight months in prison, after he pleaded guilty to causing the death of a woman without intent when he accidentally shot her with a shotgun.
Mangkok Mawa, 89, from Tebakang, entered the plea before Magistrate Nursyaheeqa Nazwa Radzali after two charges were read to him.
For the first count, he was charged under Section 304A of the Penal Code with causing the death of Corina Dina, 52, without intent, by discharging a shotgun while hunting squirrels in the backyard of his home on July 23.
The offence carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
On the second charge, he faced prosecution under Section 8(a) of the Arms Act for using a shotgun without a valid licence.
The provision carries for a penalty of up to seven years in prison, a fine up to RM10,000, or both.
The court ordered a fine of RM4,000 or five months’ imprisonment for the first charge, and RM2,000 or three months’ imprisonment for the second.
Based on the case facts, police received a call from the public reporting that a woman had been shot in a village in Tebakang around 10:00 am that day.
Mangkok was later arrested, and police seized several items including the shotgun, a firearm licence book belonging to his son, ammunition, an empty shell casing, a box of pellets, and a pair of shorts.
Investigations found that while hunting squirrels, he fired his son’s shotgun after mistaking movement in the bushes for a squirrel, but instead struck the victim.
A post-mortem confirmed the cause of death was gunshot wounds to the arm and chest.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Chuah Kai Sheng appeared for the prosecution, while Mangkok was unrepresented by counsel.
