By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Nov 18: The Federal Court has commuted the death sentence of a man who fatally shot his older brother in Kampung Sebintek, Sibu, in 2017 to a 35-year prison term and 15 strokes of the cane.
A panel led by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Datuk Azizah Nawawi, sitting with Justices Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang and Datuk Azimah Omar, delivered the unanimous ruling.
The court directed that the revised sentence for the appellant, Ringgie Ampas, 47, begin from the day he was detained on May 21, 2017.
His court-appointed lawyer, Louis Jarau Patrick, sought a review of the original punishment in accordance with the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 (Act 846), which allows judges to impose a jail term of 30 to 40 years along with whipping.
Ringgie was convicted of murder on Feb 27, 2019, under Section 302 of the Penal Code and sentenced to death by High Court judge Datuk Lee Heng Cheong.
He later challenged the sentence, but the Court of Appeal affirmed both his conviction and the death penalty on Oct 19, 2022.
The case involved the killing of his brother, 44-year-old Entili Ampas, sometime between 11am and 11.30am at their longhouse on May 21, 2017. Entili died on the spot after being shot with a shotgun from roughly 100 metres away.
Earlier reports indicated that Entili had been resting on the longhouse veranda when Ringgie opened fire.
The shooting followed an argument, during which Ringgie allegedly intervened to stop Entili from striking his daughter. Ringgie then took a shotgun from a room and fired the fatal shot.
He later fled the scene on a motorcycle and discarded the weapon in a nearby forested area. Police responding to a report found Entili’s body and subsequently arrested Ringgie.
Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari represented the State. — DayakDaily
