JOHOR BARU: Three men who were charged with murder and abetment in an unlawful killing at a petrol station in Taman Pelangi here, three years ago, were acquitted and discharged by the High Court, today.
Judicial commissioner Dr Shahnaz Sulaiman made the decision to free Gan Jia Ji, 22, Yip Kah Hou, 26, and Woon Kian Hui, 25, after the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against the trio.
Shahnaz, in her final ruling, stated several reasons for the court's decision.
"The closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage from the petrol station was not clear (enough) to link the three accused to this case.
"The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) samples also did not match the blood found at the scene; and no investigation was undertaken on their alibis.
"The prosecution also failed to link the BMW allegedly used by the accused to commit the crime," she said in her judgment.
Based on the charge sheet, Gan, as the first accused, was charged along with five suspects who are still at large, with murdering Tan Aik Chai, 44, at 7.30pm at a petrol station in Taman Pelangi on Dec 17, 2017.
Gan was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for the offence, read together with Section 34 of the same Act, which carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Yip and Woon, as the second and third accused, were charged with abetting the murder with Gan and five others still at large, at the same time and place.
The duo was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 109 and Section 34 of the same Act, which also carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Suriani Ujang prosecuted, while Gan was represented by Datin S. Freda, Che Azlin Farahannis Evani, Foo Fang Leong and Veeranesh Babu.
Yip was represented by lawyer Chuah Shyue Chien, while counsels Ram Karpal Singh and Harshaan Zamani represented Wong.
A total of 22 witnesses were called to testify in the trial that began last year, during which 42 exhibits were produced.