KUCHING: The High Court here, today, sentenced a 57-year old farmer to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to killing his friend by shooting with a shotgun two years ago.
Nuli Natau, 57, had pleaded guilty before Judicial Commissioner Alexander Siew How Wai during case hearing.
Natau was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code with deliberately causing the death of his 35-year-old friend in an unnumbered house at a paddy field, in Kampung Sungai Pedada, Sri Aman, at about 3.30am, on January 2, 2021.
The charge carries the death sentence or imprisonment for a term not less than 30 years and not more than 40 years in addition to not less than 12 strokes of the cane.
Justice Siew ordered the accused to serve his prison sentence effective from the date of arrest on January 2, 2021.
Based on the facts of the case, on January 1, 2021, at about 6.30 am, Natau and his cousin went to the victim’s house to drink alcohol until midnight.
While they were intoxicated, the victim suddenly grabbed the accused’s leg and dragged him to the main door of the house.
The accused asked the victim why he did that but the victim only replied “I dragged it”.
Angered by the treatment, the accused then returned to his house which is located 2.4 kilometres from the victim’s house and came back to the scene of the incident carrying a shotgun and then fired at the victim.
The incident was witnessed by the victim’s stepson who then immediately contacted Malaysia Emergency Response 999 (Mers 999) after seeing the victim lying on the floor without any movement with blood coming out of the victim’s mouth.
Police arrested the accused on the same day at about 12 noon and confiscated the shotgun.
