Ex-security guard gets death penalty for murder of senior citizen

GEORGE TOWN, (Bernama) -- The High Court here today sentenced a former security guard to death after finding him guilty of murdering a 76-year-old man in a shophouse in Jalan Gurdwara here, three years ago.
 Justice Datuk Zamani Abdul Rahim made the decision against Mohd Azam Raja Abdullah, 42, after finding that raise reasonable doubts in the prosecution's case. Mohd Azam was accused of murdering Soh Lian Thye after he broke into the shophouse and stole three pieces of jewellery worth about RM100 and RM200 between 5am and 9am on March 2, 2010.
 He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the death penalty upon conviction. Last year, the court sentenced Mohd Azam to 14 years jail and 16 strokes after he pleaded guilty to breaking into the shophouse and theft. However the prosecution later appealed to the Appeal Court which ordered the accused to defend himself on the original charge for murder.
 In his judgement, Zamani said the accused, who chose to testify under oath, failed to give a reasonable explanation on the injuries sustained by the victim. "The accused said he hit the victim only once which is not consistent with the injuries sustained by the victim. Penang Hospital forensics department pathology consultant Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh said the victim sustained injuries on the head as a result of being hit by a blunt object and had a minimal chance of surviving.
 The injuries suffered by the victim showed the accused could have struck more than once...with intent to cause death. Whereas the accused earlier said he had no intention of murdering the victim and he could have fled without hitting the victim," he said. The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Amir Hamzah Othman while Mohd Azam was represented by counsel P. Latsmanan and K. Thangesvaran.