KUANTAN: A 41-year-old fish wholesaler was charged at the Magistrate's Court here today with murdering an Alam Flora supervisor last week.
Teoh Kian Peng from Tanah Putih here nodded when the charge was read to him in Bahasa Melayu before magistrate Najwa Hashim.
However, no plea was recorded from the accused – who is believed to have been drunk during the incident – for the charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Based on the charge sheet, Teoh is accused of murdering Irwan Herman Kamarudin, 41, along the Jalan Kuantan Bypass near Petronas Bukit Rangin here at about 9.20pm on May 25.
Deputy public prosecutor Nasrul Hadi Abdul Ghani did not offer bail, saying that it was a non-bailable offence.
Nasrul Hadi said the accused will be detained while waiting for proceedings to begin and requested a new mention date to allow the prosecution to receive case-related documents.
"The prosecution will wait for the post-mortem, and the Puspakom (Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre), Chemistry Department and forensic reports.
"The accused will be sent to the Penor Prison," he said.
Meanwhile, Teoh's lawyer, Tay Yi Kuan, sought permission to explain the charge to his client for a few minutes after today's proceedings.
Najwa later set July 8 for mention.
Irwan Herman was killed after his Toyota Yaris was hit by the driver of a Toyota C-HR, which was moving against the flow of traffic, along the stretch.
He was travelling to work in Gebeng, near here, and was killed on-the-spot due to chest injuries, while the suspect escaped with light bruises.
The suspect is believed to have consumed alcohol at a friend's house in Semambu before getting behind the wheel of his vehicle and driving against traffic flow before the crash.