IPOH: The Magistrate's Court here today fined a woman RM2,500 after she pleaded guilty to unintentionally causing the death of a senior citizen in front of a supermarket, last week.
Magistrate Siti Nora Sharif also ordered that the accused, Siti Nuridah Jumli, 24, who is a trader, be sentenced to two months' imprisonment if she fails to pay the fine.
According to the charge sheet, the woman, along with another person still at large, acted recklessly, resulting in the death of Abd Kamar Mat Sarin, 64, at the entrance of Econsave Klebang supermarket in Klebang here between 4.20pm and 5.30pm on Oct 25.
The offence falls under Section 304A of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of two years' jail, a fine, or both.
The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Nuranisah Ismah Muhammad Husaini, while the accused was represented by National Legal Aid Foundation lawyer Robert Gnanarajan.
In mitigation, Gnanarajan said his client was self-employed with an income of RM3,000 per month and was unmarried.
According to the case facts, the medical report on the deceased indicated that the senior citizen had a heart condition and did not seek treatment at hospital.
Siti Nuridah, along with another person still at large, acted recklessly by slapping the deceased on the side of his face and the back, resulting in the victim's death.
"There were witnesses and closed-circuit television camera footage showing the accused and the other suspect slapping the deceased on the side of his face and the back of his head, without any intent to kill.
On Nov 1, District police chief Assistant Commissioner Abang Zainal Abidin Abang Ahmad said the case, initially investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, was reclassified to Section 304A of the Penal Code for causing death without intent.
He said the reclassification is based on the physical assault by the suspect on the 64-year-old victim, who also had a heart condition.
"We can't connect the cause of death directly to a heart attack, but we are focusing on the physical assault inflicted on the deceased," Abang Zainal said.