JOHOR BARU: A 51-year-old man was charged at the Magistrate Court here for allegedly murdering his mother-in-law earlier this month.
The accused, Zuraidi Zakaria, only nodded his head after the charge was read to him in front of Magistrate Atifah Hazimah Wahab here on Wednesday (Feb 12).
According to the charge sheet, the accused had allegedly murdered a woman named Epah Daik, 79, at a house at Jalan Tembaga 10, Taman Sri Skudai in Johor Baru.
He was said to have committed the offence on Feb 5 at 2.40pm.
The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries either the death sentence or a jail term of 30 to 40 years, and no fewer than 12 strokes of the cane, if found guilty.
No plea was recorded as it is a murder case under the jurisdiction of the High Court, and no bail was offered.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nik Noratini Nik Azman whereas the accused was not represented.
The court then set April 28 for submission of the DNA report.
On Feb 6, Johor Baru North OCPD Asst Comm Balveer Singh was reported saying that a 51-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman were arrested for allegedly being involved in the murder of a senior citizen at a house in Taman Sri Skudai in Skudai.
The suspects were detained following a report of the murder on Wednesday (Feb 5) at 7.08pm.
“When we arrived at the scene, we found a woman lying unconscious in the living room covered with kain batik,’’ he said, adding that an examination by the Sultanah Aminah Hospital later confirmed that the 79-year-old local woman had died.
He said initial investigations showed several items belonging to the victim were missing and believed to have been taken by the suspects.
“Further investigation found that there were elements of crime leading to death,’’ said ACP Balveer.
