KOTA KINABALU: Sarawakian Bujet Otek walked out a free man after he was acquitted and discharged without his defence called for a manslaughter charge that saw three Sessions Court judges handle his case.
Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah Amir Hassan, the third judge to sit over the case in the last six years, dismissed the manslaughter charge in which the now 73-year-old was alleged to have killed a 15-year-old boy whose body was found dead in the middle of a padi field at Kampung Lubok Kiulu in Tuaran at 2.20pm on Oct 25, 2017.
Apart from the manslaughter charge, Bujet was also charged under Section 307 of the Penal Code for having injured a three-year-old girl on the same day and time at the same construction site where he was working as a lorry driver.
This charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, if found guilty.
On July 23, 2019, a joint trial commenced for both charges against Bujet initially before the Sessions Court Judge Noorhafizah Salim where at the end of prosecution’s case, Judge Noorhafizah acquitted and discharged Bujet of the Section 307 charge of having injured the girl on Oct 25, 2019.
The prosecution appealed the acquittal but on May 6, 2021, Kota Kinabalu, High Court Judge Amelati Parnell struck out the prosecution’s appeal after the prosecution withdrew their appeal against Bujet on the charge.
As for the manslaughter charge, the first Sessions Court Judge Noorhafizah re-amended the manslaughter charge against Bujet at the end of prosecution's case and had called for him to enter his defence.
Bujet's lawyer Datuk Seri K. Rakhbir Singh had filed an appeal right up to the Court of Appeal where the Court of Appeal directed a re-trial after Rakhbir submitted that the Sessions Court could not re-amend the charge.
On Dec 22, the trial was then re-heard once again before second Sessions Court Judge Ummu Kalthom Abd Samad.
However, Judge Ummu, after having re-commenced the trial with two witnesses, subsequently retired.
Sessions Court Judge Amir Shah took over the case with the hearing beginning on July 1, 2024 and the prosecution closing its case on July 12 after 14 witnesses testified.
In Bujet's defence, Rakhbir had argued that there was not a single footprint of Bujet's going to the place where the body of the boy was found at the padi field.
Rakhbir argued that the investigation should have been more thorough rather than merely being threadbare.
"If Bujet had truly gone over to the padi field, why weren’t his footprints taken at the padi field. His footprints would have been all over the padi field as it was wet and footprints could have easily been taken," he told the court in his closing arguments earlier.
Bujet, who was with his wife in court, was moved to tears following the judgement and thanked his lawyer for his freedom.
