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2017 MarsdenLR 2210
COURT OF APPEAL KOTA KINABALU
PP – Appellant
Versus
AHMAD RIZAL UMAR – Respondent
[Criminal Appeal No: S-06A-1-08/2014]
Circumstantial evidence must unerringly lead to the guilt of the accused, necessitating a continuous integrity of evidence, which was compromised in this case.
Headnote:The judgment examines the appeal by the Public Prosecutor against the acquittal of a police inspector charged with the murder of his intimate friend under Section 302 of the Penal Code. The court found insufficiency in the circumstantial evidence and a significant break in the chain of custody concerning DNA evidence, supporting the trial judge's decision to acquit. The primary issues framed included the chain of evidence's integrity and the sufficiency of circumstantial evidence to establish guilt. The court upheld the acquittal, concluding, "For the foregoing reasons, the appeal must fail and accordingly we dismissed the appeal and affirmed the decision of High Court."
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| 1. murder charge and acquittal of the respondent. (Para 1 , 2 , 3) |
[1] The respondent, a police inspector, was charged and tried before the Kota Kinabalu High Court with the murder of one Kartini Borhan, his intimate friend. The charge read as follows:-
"That you on the 29 th day of September 2011 between the hours of 4.00 am and 5.00 am, in the house located at Lot 7 , Phasa 5, Taman Adika, Keningau, in the District of Keningau, in the State of Sabah, did commit a murder by causing a death to one Kartini Borhan (NRIC: 840512-12- 6008) and thereby committed an offence punishable under s 302 of the Penal Code .".
[2] At the close of the prosecution's case, the respondent was acquitted and discharged by the learned trial Judge without his defence being called ("impugned order").
[3] Aggrieved by the said order of acquittal and discharged, the Public Prosecutor ("PP") has now appealed to this Court urging the reversal of the said impugned order.
