Pendakwa Raya v Ahmad Faisal bin Omar

Appellant(s):

• Pendakwa Raya
• [Pendakwa Raya]

Respondent(s): Ahmad Faisal Bin Omar

• YA Dato' Paduka Azman Bin Abdullah
• YA Datuk Mohamed Zaini Bin Mazlan
• YA Dato' Azmi Bin Ariffin

• The respondent was charged with murder under s.302 of the Penal Code for strangling his ex-girlfriend to death in a car following an argument about their broken relationship.
• At the High Court, the respondent was acquitted of murder but convicted on an amended charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under s.304(a), and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment from the date of arrest.
• The prosecution appealed against the conviction and sentence, contending that the trial judge had erred in failing to convict the respondent of murder.

• Whether the trial judge erred in law and fact in finding that the respondent lacked the requisite intention to kill under s.300(a) of the Penal Code.
• Whether the trial judge erred in failing to consider and apply s.300(c) of the Penal Code, which does not require proof of intention to kill but only intention to cause bodily injury sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death.
• Whether the defence of grave and sudden provocation was available to the respondent, given evidence suggesting a "cooling-off period" between the alleged provocation and the killing.

• The Court of Appeal held that the trial judge had erred in reducing the conviction to s.299, as the evidence clearly established the elements of murder under s.300(c) — the respondent intentionally strangled the deceased in a vital area, and such an act is ordinarily sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death; intention to kill need not be shown under this limb.
• The Court found the defence of grave and sudden provocation inapplicable, as prior WhatsApp communications showed threats had been exchanged days before the killing, negating the "sudden" element and establishing a cooling-off period.
• The appeal was allowed: the s.304(a) conviction and 15-year sentence were set aside, the original murder charge under s.302 was reinstated, and the respondent was convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment (from date of arrest) together with 10 strokes of whipping.