TAWAU: A 35-year-old woman was sentenced to 20 years in jail by the Tawau High Court on Monday for causing the death of his former husband who was an e-hailing driver, two years ago.
Nurima Juli received the sentence after pleading guilty to an alternative charge read before Judge Datuk Dr Lim Hock Leng who also ordered the jail sentence to be served from the date of her re-indictment case on April 26, 2024.
She had caused the death of Nurman Bakaratu on January 13, 2023, between 7.30pm and 11.30pm at an oil palm plantation near Jalan Anjur Juara, Jalan Apas Batu 5, here.
Nurima was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code, which carries a prison sentence of up to 30 years and a possible fine, upon conviction.
Meanwhile, Nurima’s stepbrother, Sadam Kiram, 30, who was charged together with her, was acquitted and discharged from the charge.
The court also allowed the prosecution’s request to withdraw the original charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code faced by both accused.
In his judgment, Dr Lim stated that the court took into account the accused’s guilty plea to the alternative charge and had considered the arguments presented by both the defence and the prosecution.
He said the court considered public interest, case facts, and sentencing precedents in deciding to impose a 20-year prison sentence on the accused.
During a case management proceeding last year, the court had set 19 days for trial until July this year.
However, Monday’s proceedings saw Nurima pleading guilty to the alternative charge offered by the prosecution, led by Deputy Public Prosecutors Mustaffa P. Kunyalam and Mohammad Fakrurrazi Ahmad Salim.
Nurima was represented by lawyer Mark Rosaidey Mohd Amin, while Sadam was represented by Jhassary P. Kang.
For the record, Nurima was previously charged with murdering her ex-husband in the Magistrate’s Court before being made the prosecution’s key witness when the case was transferred to the High Court.
She admitted to stabbing the victim with a pair of scissors during direct examination by the prosecution team on the eighth day of the trial at the time, before High Court Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.
This development led to the release of all eight accused, who included seven Esscom officers and personnel, among them the former Esscom Chief Intelligence Staff, Datuk Mat Zaki Md Zain who had been charged with abetting, and one civilian, on January 25, 2024.
