KUALA KANGSAR: A 39-year-old man was charged at the Sessions Court here today with attempted murder and criminal intimidation of his wife, last month.
Mohd Azzuan Ahmad pleaded not guilty when the charges were read before Judge Rohaida Ishak.
According to the charge sheet, the father of five is accused of attempting to kill his wife, Nor Diyanah Ahmad, 32, resulting in the victim sustaining injuries.
He was accused of committing the offence at KM31.2 of the Gerik-Jeli East-West Highway between 4am and 5am on July 27.
He was charged under Section 307 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment upon conviction.
The accused also pleaded not guilty to the charge of criminal intimidation by threatening to cause death to the same victim in a car while traveling on the North-South Expressway (PLUS) towards Kuala Kangsar at night on July 26.
For this offence, he was charged under Section 506 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Firdaus Nor Azlan prosecuted, while the accused was represented by lawyer Hennie Soraya Hanafi from the National Legal Aid Foundation.
Firdaus did not offer bail but proposed a bail amount of RM20,000 with two sureties if the court decided to grant it.
He also requested that the court impose additional conditions, including that the accused would not interfere with the victim and must report to the police station every month until the disposal of the case.
For the criminal intimidation charge, Firdaus requested RM10,000 bail with two sureties and asked for the same additional conditions.
Meanwhile, Hennie Soraya requested the court to grant bail for her client, as he needs to support his five children who are still in school.
She added that the accused has promised not to disturb the victim until the case is resolved.
The court then set no bail for both charges and set Sept 19 for mention.
It was reported on Aug 1 that police arrested the man for allegedly trying to kill his wife by pushing her into a ravine on July 27.
District police chief Superintendent Zulkifli Mahmood said police received information regarding the incident at 2pm the same day through a phone call from a member of the public who reported discovering an injured woman in the area.
He said initial investigations revealed that the man had taken her from Kuala Lumpur to Perak, claiming that they were returning to their hometown.
Zulkifli said that later during the journey, an argument ensued between the couple, which escalated to the victim being assaulted and threatened with death by her husband.