KUCHING: A man has escaped the death penalty after the Federal Court allowed his final appeal against a conviction for murdering of his brother with a sawn-off shotgun in Sibu.
A three-judge panel presided by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Azizah Nawawi, alongside Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang and Datuk Azimah Omar, unanimously set aside the death sentence originally imposed by the Sibu High Court on Ringgie Ampas, 47.
The court allowed his appeal and sentenced him to 35 years' imprisonment, effective from the date of his arrest on 21 May 2017, and 15 strokes of the cane.
Meanwhile, his counsel, Louis Jarau Patrick, said they had applied to the Attorney General's Chambers for a sentence review under the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023.
"I applied for a 30-year prison sentence for my client," he said at the Kuching High Court on Tuesday (Nov 18).
Meanwhile, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari did not oppose the appellant's application but submitted that a sentence of 33 years' imprisonment and 13 strokes of the cane should be imposed.
Ringgie had shot and killed his brother, Entili, at Kampung Sibintek, Skim B, Batu 24, Sibu, on May 21, 2017, following an altercation at their longhouse. – Bernama
