TAIPING: A labourer was acquitted and discharged by a High Court here for causing the death of his wife three years ago.
Mohd Fadil Zainan, 44, was overjoyed when Judicial Commissioner K. Muniandy delivered his decision on Friday (Oct 8).
Mohd Fadil was charged in that year for murdering his wife Noor Waheedah Abd Wahid, 41, at a house in Batu Matang near here on Jan 11, 2018 at about 8.30pm.
Muniandy in his ruling accepted the submission by the defence counsel Ranjit Singh Sandhu that there was conflicting medical evidence on the cause of death by the pathologists and two other doctors who examined the deceased.
He said the murder charge, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, on the accused was unsustainable, and thus amended the charge to Section 304 (b) of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
"The prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against the accused on the murder charge," he added.
Ranjit in a written submission, had stated that the pathologist said there was blunt trauma to the deceased's head, when the doctors who examined her when she was brought in had said that she had suffered epilepsy and a stroke.
He had also said that the accused son had witnessed his mother suffering from epilepsy and falling while an argument between his parents was ongoing.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Sariza Ismail.
In the facts of the case, it was stated that Mohd Fadil had come home and heard his wife talking on the phone to someone, and became suspicious.
When he confronted her, an argument ensued as Mohd Fadil tried to take away her phone.
During the commotion, she fell, and according to the son, who reached home at that time, he saw his mother falling to the ground.
Mohd Fadil is expected to plead guilty to the charge under Section 304 (b) on Oct 26.
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