The court affirmed the murder conviction based on credible eyewitness testimony and rejected all defences raised by the appellant as implausible or unsupported by evidence.

Introduction

[1] The appellant was charged with murdering his own wife. The charge read as follows:

That you, Steven Lagang on 11 February 2018, around 7.00 pm to 8 pm, at room No 11, Block A, Uma Balui Ukap, Sg Asap, Belaga, in the State of Sarawak, have committed murder by causing the death of one Helen Ading (NRIC No 930111-13-5612), and thereby you have committed an offence under s 302 of the Penal Code .

[2] At the conclusion of the trial, he was convicted and sentenced to death by the High Court for the murder of his 25-year-old wife and hence this appeal.

Case For Prosecution

[3] The evidence tendered by prosecution witnesses was summarised by the learned Judicial Commissioner as follows. The unfortunate victim of the crime in question lived in a longhouse in Belaga District in Sarawak with the appellant who is her husband and their two young children. Each of the individual dwelling quarters in the longhouse are known as "pintu" or "door". The principal witness for the prosecution was one Layang Jok (PW 7). She is the aunt of the deceased. The deceased came alone to her house on the morning of 11 February 2018. After having breakfast, the deceased left and returned at about 5 pm. One of their sons who was in primary school came to Layang Jok's house and told the deceased that the appellant wanted her to return home. The deceased then left Layang Jok's house. As for Layang Jok, she went to the house of her sister, Adelina Jok. It was only two houses away from the deceased's house.

[4] From her sister's house, Layang Jok could hear a heated argument taking place in the home of the deceased and the appellant. She heard the appellant admonishing the deceased for going to her house. She also heard the deceased protesting that she has a right to visit her aunt. The appellant then threatened to kill the deceased if she persisted. The deceased then told the appellant to go ahead with his threat to kill her. The evidence of Layang Jok in her witness statement is as follows in the original language:

Pada masa itu saya mendengar Steven bercakap dalam Bahasa Kayan bermaksud "makin saya tidak suruh kamu pergi ke sana (rumah saya) tetapi kamu pergi juga". "Jangan kamu berdegil, nanti saya bunuh kamu". Helen pun menjawab dalam Bahasa Kayan yang bermaksud, "macam mana saya tidak pergi ke sana sebab rumah itu rumah makcik saya". Steven terus berkata, "jangan kamu macam itu nanti saya bunuh kamu". Helen pun menjawab, "bunuh bunuhlah". Selepas itu saya mendengar Helen meminta tolong iaitu hanya sekali itu sahaja.

[5] Layang Jok heard the deceased pleading for help soon after the above-mentioned heated argument with her husband. She then managed to witness the brutal attack on the deceased through the one-foot gap in the wall of the latter's quarters. Layang Jok saw the appellant kneeling on the back of her deceased while holding a parang in one hand and pulling her hair using the other hand. The next thing Layang Jok saw was the gruesome act of the appellant slashing the neck of the deceased. She was acquainted with the appellant as he was from the same village and was married to the deceased. She was too shocked to react by calling for help. However, a short while later she saw a neighbour by the name of Pelik Balan (PW 3) standing outside the quarters of the deceased.

[6] Pelik Balan was the other crucial witness for the prosecution. His house is next to that of the deceased. He and his wife returned to the longhouse at 9.10 pm. Like Layang Jok, he was able to peer through the gap in the wall of the deceased's house. He saw the deceased lying in a pool of blood. He immediately reported the matter to t