KLIA SHOOTING CASE: HAFIZUL APPLIES FOR PLEA BARGAINING

SEPANG, May 19 (Bernama) -- Travel agency manager Hafizul Hawari has applied for plea bargaining at the Sessions Court here today on charges of attempting to murder his ex-wife and injuring her bodyguard at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in April last year.

Deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin informed the court of this matter during the first day of the trial of Hafizul’s case before Judge Ahmad Fuad Othman.

“Today was supposed to be set for trial, but the prosecution was informed by the accused's lawyer to enter a plea bargain. The prosecution will have to examine this first,” she said before requesting that the court set another date for the decision on the accused's plea bargain. Ahmad Fuad then set the date for July 17.

Plea bargaining is a negotiation for a guilty plea held between the prosecution and the defence as an incentive for the accused person to choose to plead guilty, without having to go through the trial process.

On April 25 last year, Hafizul, 39, pleaded not guilty to the charge of attempting to murder his wife, Farah Md Isa, 39, at the International Arrivals Hall, Terminal 1 of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 1.09 am on April 14, 2024.

The charge, framed under Section 307 of the Penal Code, provides for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine, and if causing injury, he shall be imprisoned for up to 20 years, upon conviction.

He also pleaded not guilty to another charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt to his wife's bodyguard, Mohd Nur Hadith Zaini, 39, by using a pistol capable of causing death at the same location, date and time.

For that, Hafizul was charged under Section 326 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine or whipping, if convicted.

-- BERNAMA