CONTRACTOR JAILED FOUR YEARS FOR FATAL SHOOTING IN MERADONG

SIBU, March 13 (Bernama) -- The High Court here today sentenced a 68-year-old contractor to four years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the fatal shooting of a suspected thief at Jalan Ulu Sieu Bakong, Meradong in April 2023. 

Justice Wong Siong Tung convicted Tang Kee Tan under Section 304(b) of the Penal Code for causing the death of Wong Soon Guan, 40.

Tang was also sentenced to one year’s jail under Section 37 of the Arms Act 1960 for discharging a firearm and injuring another man, Wong Soon Wuong, 30, in the same incident.

The court ordered both sentences to run concurrently from the date of Tang’s arrest on April 5, 2023. 

“The most serious aggravating factor is that the incident resulted in the loss of human life. The use of a firearm also significantly increases the seriousness of the offence,” Wong said in delivering the sentence.

However, Wong said the court also took into account that the incident occurred in circumstances where the accused believed his property was being stolen, that the events unfolded in darkness and that the act was not premeditated.

Tang had originally been charged with murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code for allegedly committing the offence on April 5, 2023, at the roadside of Ulu Sieu Bakong, Meradong, Bintangor.

After hearing testimonies and submissions from both sides, the court found Tang guilty of the lesser offence under Section 304(b), which deals with culpable homicide committed with knowledge that the act is likely to cause death but without intention to cause death.

During mitigation, defence counsel Rosli Gapor said Tang was a first offender who had attempted to defend his property but had exceeded the right of private defence.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Mark Kenneth Netto, however, sought a severe custodial sentence, submitting that Tang had deliberately fired a licensed shotgun three times at the victims, who were fleeing, resulting in one death and serious injuries to the other.

Netto said a strong sentence was needed to reflect the gravity of the offences, acknowledge the loss of human life and send a clear deterrent message against the misuse of licensed firearms and armed vigilantism.

-- BERNAMA