Wednesday October 17, 2012

Four who killed man relieved at five years’ jail

Off to jail: Parameswaran (right), Batumalai (left), Raja Sekaran (partially hidden, behind right) and Saravanan being taken away after sentencing.

SEREMBAN: Four friends who killed a 30-year-old man for kicking a plastic bag containing their food have been sentenced to five years in jail.

P. Raja Sekaran, 45, K. Parameswaran, 40, M. Batumalai and , both 29, who were initially charged with murder, seemed relieved when High Court judge Justice Datuk Siti Mariah Ahmad delivered her verdict.

The charge was reduced to causing death by negligence, which provides for a jail sentence of up to 10 years under a plea bargaining system.

Siti Mariah said that since the plea bargaining allowed those who pleaded guilty to serve a prison term which was not more than half the maximum punishment imposed, the court had little choice but to sentence them to five years in jail.

“The court also orders that your sentence starts from the day of your arrests,” she said.

The four odd-job workers were drinking along a pavement near Padang Merdeka in Port Dickson at about 8.50pm on Aug 20 last year when the victim Noor Azlan Mohd Nor walked up to them and kicked the bag containing their food.

News

Wednesday October 17, 2012

Four who killed man relieved at five years’ jail