SHAH ALAM: Nigerian national Alowonle Oluwajuwon Gilbert was sentenced to death by the High Court here today for the murder of Serdang Hospital nurse Siti Kharina Mohd Kamarudin, two years ago.
Judge Datuk Ab Karim Ab Rahman handed down the sentence to the 38-year old after finding him guilty of the offence.
In sentencing, Ab Karim said the prosecution had proven its case against the accused beyond all reasonable doubt.
"The accused is therefore sentenced to be hanged to death," the judge said.
Upon hearing the verdict, Gilbert who was standing inside the dock looked down and burst into tears.
Ab Karim in his decision said Gilbert's defence was a mere denial and an afterthought.
This, he said was because the accused's testimony was inconsistent with the close circuit television (CCTV) recording at the condominium where the incident happened.
"The accused said he was not with the deceased after 8pm on May 8 until the next morning. He said he left he condominium unit at 8pm on that day.
"The court finds that the accused's testimony is a mere denial and an afterthought as it is inconsistent with the CCTV recording," he said.
Ab Karim said the accused also could not provide an explanation why there were blood stains carrying the DNA of Siti Kharina on his shirt on the morning of May 9, 2019.
The judge added that the defence had never disputed the accused's clothing during trial.
Deputy public prosecutor Tengku Intan Suraya Tengku Ismail conducted the prosecution while Gilbert was represented by counsel Shafinah Talib.
Gilbert was first brought to court on May 27, 2019, and charged with the murder of Siti Kharina at a condominium unit at Third Avenue Condominium in Cyberjaya between 12.41am on May 9 and 2.30pm on May 15, that year.
Siti Kharina, a mother of three was reported to have gone missing on May 8, 2019, after she was last seen at the Serdang Hospital parking lot at 4pm, that day.
The head nurse was later found dead with slash wounds to her chest, neck and head at the condominium unit on May 15, the same year.
The victim was believed to have died between four and five days before her body was discovered.