SEREMBAN: A 45-year-old man was ordered to be sent to the gallows by the High Court here after he was found guilty of the double murders of his adoptive parents.
Judge Datuk Rohani Ismail said the prosecution had proven its case against the accused Tan Kian Ngip beyond a reasonable doubt.
"The court also finds that the defence raised by the accused was a mere denial and an afterthought.
"And since the accused has chosen not to mitigate, the court hereby sentences him to death by hanging," she said.
Tan, who was previously a stockbroker, was charged with murdering retired engineer Tan Kim Joo,73, and his retired teacher wife Ng Chong Hwa, 67, at their house in Nilai between 4pm and 7.45pm on July 24, 2019.
He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the death penalty or imprisonment of up to 40 years and not less than 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
Counsel for the accused, S. Dynasri told the court that her client did not wish to mitigate before he was sentenced.
Deputy public prosecutor Alauddin Baharom said although the court could use its discretion to send the accused to jail, the only punishment he deserved was death by hanging.
"The accused had mercilessly killed two people who had raised him.
"The court should also take into account that this was a premeditated crime against his own family members," he said.
Alauddin said Kim Joo had 13 injuries on his body out of which seven were stab wounds.
His wife had 18 injuries with 11 stab wounds.
"The victims had raised the accused but he committed a heinous crime.
"The victims had stab wounds in their vital organs including the lungs, kidneys, liver and heart," he said.
Alauddin said the accused had also tried to hide his crime by trying to set the house ablaze but was unsuccessful.
According to media reports then, firemen who responded to a fire alert at the victims' house found their bodies with stab and slash wounds at separate locations in the house.
Alauddin said the accused had also used his girlfriend's car to travel from his house in Kuala Lumpur to Nilai several times before eventually killing them as part of the plan before committing the crime.
Alauddin said the court should also take into account a recent case where a man had murdered his brother and was sent to the gallows despite the amendments to the law giving courts the discretion not to impose the death penalty.
"That was also a premeditated murder where the victim was slashed.
"So, public interest has to take precedence in this case as well and the only punishment that should be meted out is death by hanging," he added.
