Kota Kinabalu: An Indonesian was on Friday jailed 30 years and ordered to be given 12 strokes of the cane for murdering his wife at a vegetable stall in Kepayan, here, three years ago.
High Court Judge Datuk Alexander Siew How Wai imposed the sentence on Jedu Rudu, 45, to run from the date of his arrest on April 8, 2023.
Jedu, a landscaper, pleaded guilty to murdering one Suria Woade, 38, a coffee shop worker, between 1pm and 2.21pm on April 8, 2023.
The charge, under Section 302 of the Penal Code, carries the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years, and if the offender is not sentenced to death, a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane on conviction.
The court had, on Feb 19, ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case and called for Jedu to enter his defence.
However, when the case came up for defence on June 18, Jedu changed his plea to guilty, and the court convicted him and fixed July 3 for sentencing.
On Friday, the court was informed by the prosecution that Jedu and the deceased were husband and wife but had been living separately for some time.
On the day of the incident, Suria was helping her sister sell vegetables at the market when Jedu arrived carrying a knife.
An argument broke out between them before Jedu stabbed Suria once in the left side of her back and fled the scene.
The attack was witnessed by a vegetable seller, who immediately called for an ambulance.
Medical personnel arrived shortly afterwards and performed CPR before rushing Suria to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Despite emergency treatment, she was pronounced dead at 2.21pm the same day.
A post-mortem conducted by a forensic pathologist found a single stab wound about 17cm deep on the left side of the victim’s back and that the pathologist concluded that the injury caused severe bleeding and respiratory failure, and was sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death.
In mitigation, defence counsel Mohamad Syazwan Shah Mohamad Ali and Nigel Neong Kaning, representing Jedu, requested a custodial sentence instead of the death penalty, submitting that Jedu was married to the deceased and that they have four children, three in Indonesia and the youngest child resided with Jedu.
At the time the offence took place, Jedu and the deceased were having marital problems and he had gone to meet his wife to seek reconciliation after discovering she was in a new relationship, but lost self-control following a heated argument after she rejected reconciliation, said Mohamad Syazwan.
The defence also submitted that Jedu regretted his conduct and was remorseful and that the case did not fall within the “rarest of the rare” category warranting the death sentence.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Dacia Jane Romanus submitted that the victim was Jedu’s own wife and that the offence amounted to the ultimate betrayal of trust.
She further submitted that the murder was committed in broad daylight at a public market, causing fear to the public, and urged the court to impose a sentence reflecting the gravity of the offence and serving as a deterrent.
The prosecution also argued that Jedu’s guilty plea should be given only limited weight as it was entered only after the court had found a prima facie case against him.
