KUALA LUMPUR: A court in Klang sent a senior citizen to the gallows for murdering his disabled stepsister-in-law five years ago.
High Court judge Datuk Azmi Abdullah ruled that the defence in the trial of Muhammad Johari Ng Abdullah had failed to raise a reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case.
The written judgment, dated Jan 2, was published on the Judiciary website last week.
Johari, 65, had been accused of murdering his wife's stepsister,
Nor Izzati Ghazali, 31, by beating her repeatedly at an apartment off Jalan Sungai Jati in Klang on Feb 19, 2019.
Nor Izzati had a condition called dwarfism.
The court ruled that the severe injuries on her body were caused by Johari.
Azmi, in his judgment, said Johari's testimony was not credible and was merely a denial.
He rejected Johari's contention that the injuries were caused by Nor Izzati's stepmother.
"His own wife testified that he beat the deceased two to three times a week.
"The accused said that he did not spend time with the deceased because he worked from morning until night.
"The court finds that the accused did have time with the deceased because the deceased was at the accused's house for two months.
"Even if the accused was not at home when he was working, he was at home with the deceased during non-working hours," Azmi wrote.
Deputy public prosecutor Aimi Syazwani Sarmin prosecuted, and lawyer Gabriel Susayan represented Johari.