Murder trial of cosplay enthusiast postponed

Poon being led to court on Tuesday.

SHAH ALAM: The hearing of the case involving the alleged murder of cosplay enthusiast Ng Yuk Tim was postponed to November 9 after the prosecution asked the court for more time.

Deputy public prosecutor Fariza Hamzah said the prosecution had just received the medical report from Hospital Bahagia in Tanjung Rambutan, Ipoh on the accused’s psychiatric evaluation.

She said the prosecution needed two weeks to deliberate the report.

“The plaintiff’s family had also written to the Attorney-General’s Chambers on October 18 requesting for the charge on the accused to remain and that the case to go on as planned,” she said here Tuesday.

Lawyer Chan Yen Hui who was holding a watching brief for the deceased’s family said that the accused’s counsel wrote to the AGC on October 11 requesting for the charge to be changed from Section 302 of the Penal Code to Section 304 of the same Code.

Under Section 304 of the Code, the maximum punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder is 30 years imprisonment and a fine.

High Court judge Justice Mohd Azman Husin then fixed November 9 for the case to be heard.

Cosplay enthusiast Yuk Tim, 15, was murdered and her body was found in a suitcase on Oct 22, 2013.

A 23-year-old male friend, Poon Wai Hong was later charged with her murder on October 31 the same year under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Poon, who was represented by lawyer Datuk Rajpal Singh appeared in court in a white T-shirt with dark pants.

He remained calm and did not react throughout the proceeding at the Shah Alam High Court on Tuesday.

He was accused of murdering the girl at a house at Kampung Cempaka in Kelana Jaya between 3pm and 4pm on Oct 21, 2013.

The girl was believed to have gone to the suspect’s house the previous day to get help with some cosplay costumes.

The suspect initially claimed that he had dropped her off at the Kelana Jaya LRT station at about 3.30pm the same day.

However he later confessed that the two had clashed. After being handed over to the Petaling Jaya police, he led them to a body, believed to be that of Yuk Tim, which was stuffed in a suitcase near Kota Kemuning in Shah Alam.