Man acquitted of murder due to insanity

SHAH ALAM: The High Court here today acquitted and discharged a cyber café cashier charged with killing a customer, after finding that the man was not of sound mind when he committed the act five years ago.
Judge Datuk Abdul Halim Aman, however, ordered Yip Chun Hoong, 33, to undergo mental rehabilitation at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Tanjung Rambutan in Perak, for a period specified by the Sultan of Selangor.
Yip was charged with killing Choong Yong Kit, 20, at the Speed Chat Internet Cafe in Pandan Indah, Ampang near here, between 4pm and 5.30pm on March 11, 2012.
He was tried under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
During trial, defence counsel Mah Kah Keong presented two witnesses, the accused and a psychiatrist, while the prosecution conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Rosidah Abu Bakar presented 22 witnesses.
In his judgement, Abdul Halim said 10 issues had been raised by the defence, including the fact that the accused admitted to stabbing the victim; stabbed him following the instructions of an unseen woman; there was no misunderstanding between the accused and the victim; and that the accused displayed the characteristics of a person with an unsound mind five months prior to the incident.
After reviewing all the statements from witnesses and 83 case items filed in court, he found the accused not guilty of murdering the victim, due to insanity, as he was not able to understand the consequences of his actions.
"The insanity of the accused is also apparent in the closed-circuit television recording captured at the premises, where there was a slot which showed that the accused was raving and stabbing an unoccupied chair at least five times.
"There was also a recording slot where the victim was seen entering the premises and sitting in the same seat, and the accused was seen going to the back of the premises and returning with a knife, and stabbing the victim. In addition, there was a slot which showed the accused wobbling, even though he was alone in the premises at the time," he said.
Abdul Halim said although there was sufficient evidence to prove that the accused had caused the death of the victim, the accused had to be released under Section 84 of the Penal Code and Section 347 of the Criminal Procedure Code due to his insanity.
In this regard, he issued an order under Section 348 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code requiring the victim to be confined at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta for mental rehabilitation as well as to prevent him from causing harm to others. — Bernama