KOTA KINABALU: A fisherman has been sentenced to 35 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane for the murder of his ex-wife.
Melo Guli, 41, was found guilty by High Court judge Datuk Faridz Gohim Abdullah following a full trial.
Melo was convicted of killing vegetable seller Rina Ahmad, 36, in a room on the second floor of the Segama shopping complex at 2.30pm on Feb 11, 2020.
The crime falls under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
The trial began on Oct 30, 2023, with the prosecution presenting 14 witnesses.
Melo was ordered to enter his defence after the court determined that a prima facie case had been established.
He testified as the sole witness during the defence stage on July 11, 2024.
Deputy public prosecutor Afiq Agoes argued for a death sentence, describing the case as one of the "rarest of the rare" due to the brutal nature of the crime – 12 stab wounds inflicted on the victim in the presence of her 16-year-old daughter.
Despite the abolition of the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia, Afiq contended that the court still had the discretion to impose it.
In response, defence lawyer Goldam Hamid argued against the death penalty, saying that the case did not meet the criteria for such a sentence and requested imprisonment instead.