A Myanmar vegetable farm worker appeared in the Magistrate’s Court today, charged with the murder of a fellow countryman along Jalan Lojing Lama late last month.
The accused, 51-year-old LI Thein Tay, did not enter a plea after the charge was read in Malay through a court interpreter before Judge Nik Mohd. Tarmizie Nik Mohd Shukri. No plea was recorded as murder cases fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
According to the charge sheet, Thein Tay allegedly caused the death of a Myanmar man known as Bjay at the roadside of Jalan Lojing Lama, Pos Brooke, between 10:30 pm on February 27 and 1 am on February 28.
He faces charges under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty or life imprisonment of 30 to 40 years, and a minimum of 12 lashes if not sentenced to death.
The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Shahril Ramli, while the accused was unrepresented. The court scheduled the next case mention for March 30, which will include the appointment of a court interpreter.
Earlier reports by Kosmo! Online stated that the body of a man, believed to be a foreign national, was found lying with stab wounds to the left chest along Jalan Lama Lojing, Pos Brooke, on February 28.
Deputy Superintendent Azlan Che Abdullah, Deputy District Police Chief of Gua Musang, said the district police headquarters’ control centre received a call at around 4:35 am from officers on duty at the Lojing police post reporting the discovery. Initial investigations at the scene revealed the victim, estimated to be in his 30s, has yet to be formally identified.
