ALOR SETAR, Dec 22 — The High Court has acquitted and discharged a former warden of a private drug rehabilitation centre on a charge of murdering an inmate at the facility in Changlun, Kedah, four years ago.
Judge Evawani Farisyta Mohammad ordered Sidi Ahmad Amin Mamat, 50, to be freed after ruling that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.
In delivering the judgment, she said the prosecution had failed to prove that the injuries sustained by the deceased were caused by the accused.
The evidence raised the possibility that the victim had been assaulted by other individuals at two or three different locations, noting that two traces of DNA from unknown persons were found on the deceased’s sarong.
Judge Evawani also noted that while Sidi was charged with hitting the victim on the chest and neck, the prosecution’s own pathologist testified that the cause of death was injuries to the abdominal aorta.
As a result, the court ruled that the charge could not be sustained and ordered the accused to be acquitted without having to enter his defence.
He was charged with murdering Umar Muhajir Ghazali at the drug rehabilitation centre in Sintok, Changlun, between 11am and 6.30pm on November 4, 2021.
The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides the death sentence or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years and not less than 12 strokes of the cane, if not sentenced to death, upon conviction.
Sidi was represented by lawyers Mohd Hezeri Harun and Mohd Fadhly Yaacob, while the prosecution was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamed Shah Reza Noor Azman.
