Prosecution must establish a prima facie case and prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt, especially in circumstantial evidence cases where reliability of witnesses is critical.

Introduction

[1] The appellant was charged for the murder of one Sujitha a/p Subramaniam which took place between 2.15 pm and 9 pm on 13 August 2000 at the KM 88 Lebuhraya Persekutuan Ipoh/Kuala Lumpur.

[2] The charge reads as follows:

Bahawa kamu pada 13 Ogos 2000, diantara jam 2.15 petang hingga 9.00 malam, di Kilometer 88, Jalan Persekutuan Ipoh-Kuala Lumpur, Behrang Station, di dalam Daerah Batang Padang, di dalam Negeri Perak, telah melakukan pembunuhan dengan menyebabkan kematian Sujitha a/p Subramaniam, KL No: 771003-02-5576, oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan kesalahan yang boleh dihukum dibawah s 302 Kanun Keseksaan .

[3] At the close of the trial before the High Court at Ipoh, the learned High Court Judge found the appellant guilty and convicted him of the said charge and sentenced him to death.

[4] On appeal to the Court of Appeal (COA), the learned judges of the COA dismissed the appellant's appeal and confirmed the conviction and sentence imposed.

[5] The appellant has now appealed to the Federal Court against the conviction and sentence.

Facts Of Case

[6] The narrative of the prosecution's case runs thus:

On 14 August 2000 at about 2 pm one Mohd Arif bin Pandak Kamal (PW2) while doing supervisory work on pipe laying for water supply project in the Slim River area stumbled upon a dead body and went to report the same to PW1 who was on duty at the Behrang Police Station. Upon receipt of the information PW1 accompanied by a colleague proceeded to the scene and discovered a body of a female clad in a dark coloured bra and blue jeans. The face was covered with blood and there were wounds on the head and cheek. A pair of shoes, a belt, a black T-shirt and a pair of spectacles were also seen nearby. A police report vide Behrang Report No 288/2000 (P2) was lodged by this witness. Soon afterwards the scene of the crime was visited by the Investigating Officer (PW16) together with a police photographer and one Chief Inspector Somu (PW13). The scene was identified as KM88 Lebuhraya Persekutuan Ipoh/Kuala Lumpur. The body was found lying upwards with both hands tied over the head with a raffia string. The neck was also tied with a plastic rope with one end tied to a small tree. The sketch plan (P76) of the scene was drawn by PW16. The body was later taken to the District Hospital Tanjung Malim where a post-mortem was conducted on 15 August 2000. PW13 and members of the deceased family identified the body during the post-mortem. The cause of death was stated by the pathologist as ligature strangulation. Police investigation revealed that the deceased had on 12 August 2000 visited her family in Ipoh together with the appellant and on 13 August 2000 at about 2 pm both of them left on a motorcycle for Kuala Lumpur. That was the last time the deceased was seen alive. It was established that both of them were lovers staying together in a rented room in Petaling Jaya.

The Appeal

[7] In all there were 22 grounds of appeal raised by the appellant in