SEREMBAN – A 17-year-old boy was charged today in magistrates court with the murder of an elderly man two weeks ago.
He was charged with murdering Muhammad Zahid Nagappan, 74, at Kg Pasir, Jalan Siliau, Rantau, between 11.30pm on January 3 and 10am the following day.
The case proceeding before magistrate Syed Farid Syed Ali was conducted behind closed doors because it involved a juvenile.
The charge, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, provides the death penalty or imprisonment for a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of 40 years, and if not sentenced to death, shall be punished with a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane if convicted.
Offenders under the age of 18 cannot be sentenced to death under Section 97(1) of the Child Act 2001, but may be sentenced to prison at the discretion of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong if the offence is committed in the Federal Territory, or the Sultan or Yang di-Pertuan Negeri if committed in another state.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor M. Pusppa while the teenager was unrepresented.
The court set March 18 for mention for submission of the post-mortem report.– January 17, 2024