SEREMBAN: A former lecturer, initially accused of murder, was sentenced to 10 years’ jail after she pleaded guilty to causing the death of her husband.
Lau Seck Yan, 58, made the plea after the Attorney General’s Chambers accepted a representation filed by the defence to review the original charge.
Lau, who was originally charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murdering her 55-year-old husband Poh Seng Hiap, is now convicted by the High Court here under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
She was first charged on Jan 28, 2022.
Lau, who contested as an Independent candidate in the 2018 Port Dickson by-election, allegedly committed the offence at their home at the Rasah Kemayan Golf and Country Township near here between 3.30pm and 4.30pm on Jan 23, 2022.
Poh, an accountant, was reportedly stabbed in the chest and abdomen.
Earlier, her counsel Kitson Foong told High Court judge Rohani Ismail that Lau was remorseful and regretted the incident.
“It was a tragedy which unfolded from a disagreement between a husband and wife and escalated into a fight.
“My client has had a chance to reflect on this while she was in prison for the past three years.
“All she wants is to be able to go home to her four daughters and an 88-year-old father,” he said.
Foong said Lau had also been active in doing social work, being a president of a Buddhist association.
This was also the first time she had run afoul of the law.
Deputy public prosecutor Khairunnisa Hazwani Omar prosecuted.
