By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Oct 16: High Court Judge Christopher Chin reversed the decision of the Magistrate’s Court and quashed the conviction of a former university lecturer on eight charges of voluntarily causing hurt to his two teenage daughters and threatening to kill his elder daughter.
The two daughters of Mikail Tan Abdullah had lodged complains against their father in 2016.
Mikail was subsequently charged in the Magistrate’s Court but Magistrate Zulhairil Sulaiman found Mikail not guilty and discharged and acquitted him of all eight charges.
The prosecution appealed the said ruling to the High Court. High Court Judge Datuk Supang Lian found there was a prima facie case and called on Mikail to enter his defence.
After hearing his defence, Magistrate Mohd Syukri convicted Mikail of all eight charges.
Subsequently, Mikail appealed against the sentence passed to the High Court, before Justice Christopher Chin.
His daughters then filed a police report and Statutory Declaration to say that their earlier complaints were a misunderstanding and filed an application in the same High Court to admit the new evidence, that is three police reports and three statutory declaration. They informed the court that with all these new evidence, the court should discharge and acquit Mikail.
Justice Chin after considering the new evidence, exercised his discretion and set aside all eight charges and sentences for the eight charges.
In one of the cases, Mikail was charged with three charges of voluntarily causing hurt to his younger daughter between February 2015 and May 22, 2016, at a house in Jalan Dagak Barat and Taman Vision BDC respectively. He was charged under section 323 of the Penal Code.
He was also charged with voluntarily causing hurt to his elder daughter between August 2015 and April 22, 2016, at a house in Taman Norhasmita Iklas, Jalan Dagak Barat respectively. He was charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code under this case.
He was also charged with two charges of threatening to kill his elder daughter in a house in Taman Vision BDC and Jalan Dagak Barat respectively between August 2015 and January 2016.
He was charged under Section 506 of the Penal Code.
DPP Hayda Faridzal Abu Hasan represented the prosecution while the appellant was represented by counsels Shankar Ram and Daniel Ling. — DayakDaily
