By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, May 14: An Indonesian man, Nyambang Entuhan, 53, has had his death sentence upheld by the Federal Court today for the murder of five wedding guests at a longhouse in the Song District 17 years ago.
The three-judge panel, consisting of Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, Datuk Nordin Hassan, and Datuk Hanipah Farikullah, unanimously rejected Nyambang’s appeal for an alternative sentence to the death penalty.
In delivering the unanimous decision, Datuk Rhodzariah stated that Nyambang’s appeal lacked merit based on the overall evidence.
On May 7, 2010, the High Court sentenced Nyambang to death for the murders of Gram George, Meluda Imin, Jimbun Ngindang, Paulus Ilu, and Galau Ilu.
The killings took place at Rumah Enchan, Sungai Engkabau, Song District, in the communal area (‘ruai’) and a room located between the ‘ruai’ and the kitchen of the longhouse, between 9.30pm and 10.00pm on June 6, 2007.
Nyambang was also sentenced to 18 years in prison for causing severe injuries to nine other wedding guests and an additional four years for possessing a firearm and ammunition.
According to case facts and the event chronology, Nyambang attended a wedding feast at Rumah Enchan. During the event, the longhouse chief (Tuai Rumah), Lucas Baru, was honored to give a speech.
In his speech, Lucas mentioned that he did not encourage his community members to marry Indonesians as they lacked identification cards.
Hearing this, Nyambang, who was the former son-in-law of the longhouse chief and seated in the ‘ruai,’ appeared enraged and left the communal area.
Shortly after, guests enjoying their food and drinks were shocked when Nyambang returned and began shooting at them.
The attack resulted in the deaths of five guests, who sustained fatal injuries, and left nine others wounded.
The injured victims were taken to the Song Clinic for immediate treatment and later transferred to Kapit Hospital.
The prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Fuad Abdul Aziz. — DayakDaily
