KUALA TERENGGANU: A former Malaysia Volunteer Corps Department (Rela) member has been sentenced to 30 years' jail after pleading guilty to murdering former MCA Marang chief Fong Swee Fuan.
High Court Judge Datuk Hassan Abdul Ghani also sentenced Ong Chow Lee, 59, to another 13 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a charge of attempting to kill Fong's nephew, Teo Hock Beng, who was shot in the left hand.
Ong was ordered to serve the jail sentences concurrently from the date of arrest on July 23, 2021.
He was charged with committing both offences, framed under Section 302 and 307 of the Penal Code respectively, behind a Chinese temple in Taman Raya Wakaf Tapai, Marang at 1.55pm on July 23, 2021.
State prosecution director Azizan Abdullah and deputy public prosecutors Amer Abu Bakar Abdullah and Mohd Khairuddin Idris appeared for the prosecution, while the accused was represented by lawyers Mohd Azlan Shah Mohd Allias, Abdul Hayyi Salim and Diyana Ibrahim.
Earlier, Mohd Khairuddin, who sought a death sentence on the accused, said the offences, for causing the death of Fong, 65, who was shot in the chest, and injuring Teo, 45, who was shot in the left hand, were serious.
He also said that the guilty plea by the accused was not an "automatic discount" for a lighter sentence.
Meanwhile, Mohd Azlan Shah, during mitigation, requested that Ong, who had no previous records, be given a lighter sentence because of his age and that his guilty plea had saved the court time and costs. – Bernama