E-hailing driver murder case transferred to Tawau High Court

TAWAU - The magistrate’s court here today transferred the case of the former Eastern Sabah Security Command intelligence chief and seven others charged with the murder of an e-hailing driver to the Tawau High Court.

Tawau High Court deputy registrar Suhaila Selag made the decision after allowing the application of deputy public prosecutors Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad and Mohammad Fakhrurazzi Ahmad Salim to have the case involving Datuk Mat Zaki Md Zain, 58, along with six policemen and a civilian transferred to the high court.

Earlier, Mat Zaki was slapped with another charge of abetting John Kennedy Sanggah to kill Nurman Bakaratu, 61, at an oil palm plantation near Jalan Anjur Juara, Jalan Apas Baru 5, Tawau, between 7.30 pm and 11.30 pm, on Jan 13.

The charge, framed under Section 109 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 302 of the same law, provides for the death penalty or imprisonment for a minimum of 30 years and not more than 40 years, if not sentenced to death, and not less than 12 strokes of the cane, if convicted.

The six policemen, namely Rosdi Rastam, 44; Denis Ak Anit, 44; Fabian Ak Rungam, 43; Khairul Azman Bakar, 47; Mohd Azlan Sakaran, 39; John Kennedy, 44; and civilian Vivien Fabian, 34, are charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

On Feb 8, all seven were charged with killing the e-hailing driver, while Mat Zaki was charged with abetting the murder.

John Kennedy was initially a prosecution witness, but on April 11, he was charged in the Magistrate’s Court here with murdering the victim.

Sabah police commissioner Datuk Idris Abdullah was reported as saying that the murder was motivated by jealousy and did not involve security issues in Sabah.

On Jan 30, the victim’s ex-wife Nurima Juli, 33, who is unemployed, was charged at the same Magistrate’s Court with the murder. - BERNAMA