SHAH ALAM: Former information technology (IT) officer Yew Wei Liang was sentenced to 16 years in jail for culpable homicide of the former bank manager in a road rage incident which took place on the North-South Expressway (NSE) in 2019.
High Court judge Julia Ibrahim meted out the sentence against the 45-year-old accused today.
Yew was initially charged with the murder of Syed Muhammad Danial Syed Shakir under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
However, he was found guilty under Section 304(a) of the same Code after the court amended the charge to culpable homicide not amounting to murder on Tuesday.
Section 304(a) carries a prison sentence of up to 30 years and a fine.
Julia, when reading her ruling, said the accused failed to prove there was a threat of bodily harm against him and his wife from the deceased.
However, she said the court found the existence of the right to protect Yew's property from acts of mischief which was the damage of his Toyota Innova by using a baseball bat.
"But the right to protect the property did not extend to causing the death of the deceased," she said.
Julia said the jail sentence will run from the date of arrest on Aug 10, 2019.
"The court needs to take account on the background of the accused, his cooperation during investigation, and the action of the deceased in this case when determining a fair sentence.
"The incident that started on the road was fueled by anger and dissatisfaction, and it was further exacerbated by the use of illegal substances (deceased tested positive for drugs), only inviting negative consequences.
"We must remain calm and control our emotions before taking any action in this increasingly challenging world," she said.
"The court also needs to consider the public interest in cases like this, which requires punishment in the form of prevention and to educate the public.
"The court also takes into consideration the impact on the victim's wife.
"This incident is a tragedy that has repercussions for all parties directly or indirectly not only for the victim but also for the accused's wife and family," she said.
Yew's counsel Wee Choo Keong, in mitigation, asked the court to set six years jail sentence against his client.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zahirudin, however, pressed for maximum sentence against the accused.
As Julia read out her judgement, a woman, believed to be Syed Muhammad Danial's wife, was seen weeping in the public gallery.
Several other people, believed to be the deceased's family members, tried to comfort the woman.
Yew was initially charged with the murder of the former bank manager under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
However, he was found guilty under Section 304(a) of the same Code after the court amended the charge to culpable homicide not amounting to murder on Tuesday.
Section 304(a) carries a prison sentence of up to 30 years and a fine.
On Aug 22, 2019, Yew was charged under Section 302 with murdering Syed Muhammad Danial, then aged 29, at the 293.6 kilometre stretch of the NSE (Kuala Lumpur-Seremban) between 1pm and 2pm on Aug 10, 2019.
The incident began as a fender bender between Syed Muhammad Danial and Yew near the Sungai Besi toll plaza.
Both vehicles were then involved in a high-speed chase, until both drivers stopped and engaged in a physical altercation, which was broken up by other motorists.
Syed Muhammad Danial and the suspect eventually returned to their respective cars.
However, the former, still displeased, allegedly alighted from his car armed with a baseball bat and began swinging at the front portion of the suspect's car.
In response, the suspect allegedly accelerated his vehicle, which rammed into Syed Muhammad Danial, pinning him between the suspect's car and the road divider.
Syed Muhammad Danial later died at the Nilai Medical Centre.