Ex-Sabah rugby player gets 12 years for causing sister's death

Borneo Post

6 days ago

KOTA KINABALU (July 21): A former Sabah rugby player was jailed for 12 years by a High Court here today for causing the death of his sister two years ago.
Justice Datuk Duncan Sikodol imposed the sentence on Arden Mattson Maturin, 28, after the latter pleaded guilty to an alternative charge under Section 304 (a) of the Penal Code.
The indictment provides for a jail term of up to 30 years and a fine, upon conviction.
Arden was supposed to be tried on Monday for his previous charge of murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
However, his representation to the deputy public prosecutor's office had been accepted.
Arden was ordered to serve his jail term from the date of his arrest.
He admitted to causing the death of his biological sister Audrey Maturin, 24, at their house in Taman Prestij, Off Jalan Signal Hill here on May 4, 2023.
In imposing the sentence, the court, among others, held that the murder, though tragic, occurred in the heat of the moment, driven by rage rather than impatience.
Judge Duncan further held Arden is still young and prior to the incident had shown promise with the potential to represent the state in rugby.
He said Arden had no prior record, had expressed remorse and that incarceration would only deepen the suffering already borne by his family, especially his ageing parents, who have lost one child and may now be deprived of another.
The judge also said that a custodial sentence is nonetheless warranted to reflect the sanctity of life and the public interest
'However, given the mitigating factors, I am of the view that a sentence of 12 years' imprisonment, from the date of arrest, strikes the necessary balance between punishment and compassion. It reflects the gravity of the act while acknowledging the tragic familial context in which it occurred,' he added.
The court heard that during the incident, both their parents and youngest child went out and left only Arden and Audrey at home.
Audrey was inside her room while Arden was smoking outside their home.
After their parents and youngest child left home, Audrey had written a note on a paper which was meant for Arden and the paper was sticked on a store door of their home.
Due to that, it had caused both Arden and Audrey to fight and Arden had repeatedly assaulted Audrey's face, neck, chest and hand.
The neighbours heard shoutings from the house and also saw Arden leaving the house in hurry and anxious manner.
When the parents and the youngest child reached home, they saw Audrey lying backward in a pool of blood on the floor at the living room of the house.
Audrey was rushed to the emergency unit of a hospital. She was resuscitated but showed no signs of life and a doctor confirmed that her injuries as severe traumatic brain injury with hemorrhage shock and multiple facial bone fractures.
When Arden was arrested on May 4, 2023, both his hands were swollen and the rings could not be taken off from his fingers.
Firefighter was called to assist in taking off the rings from Arden's fingers.
The facts further stated that Audrey was pronounced dead two days later on May 6 at 10.30pm.
A post-mortem showed that she suffered 24 external injuries while the internal injuries were severe bleeding beneath her head skin, bleeding on her brain blood vessel, her brain was swelling, severe fractures on her face bone and skull.
The victim also suffered severe bleeding on her neck muscle, thyroid gland, right chest and several of her ribs were broken.
Swelling mark on Audrey's face matched with the shape of Arden's rings after they had been taken off from his fingers.
The post-mortem report confirmed that Audrey's cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, neck and chest.
In mitigation, counsel Edward Paul and counsel Batholomew Jingulam requested for 10 years of custodial sentence be imposed on Arden and this was their client's first offence.
Edward submitted that Arden regretted with what he had done and he had pleaded guilty to the alternative charge.
The counsel further submitted that Arden's actions were a result of alleged provocation by signage put up by Audrey and he lost control of his actions. The incident was not premeditated and no weapon was used during the incident.
'Do not let the family lose another child, a lengthy sentence will impact the ageing parents,' said the counsel.
The court allowed Arden's father to say something before the court passed the sentence.
Arden's father said that 'This is my eldest son and I am already 63. We respectfully appeal to this court for leniency, as we believe what happened was never his intention'.
He explained that his son changed significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic and explained that he had dreamt of representing Malaysia in rugby and was selected for centralised training in Sandakan, planned for a year but cut short to six months due to the pandemic.
His father further explained that upon returning to Kota Kinabalu, Arden was placed under quarantine for almost a month, being among the first group isolated.
'After that, we could see his frustration, which he kept to himself, spent most of his time alone in his room and became very withdrawn.
'I spoke to him, he told me all he ever wanted was to continue his training and play for Malaysia,' Arden's father said, adding that, his son was deeply affected by the incident.
In reply, the prosecution submitted that the sentence to be imposed in this case must send a clear message to the public.
The prosecution acknowledged Arden's youth and clean record, but stressed that that could not outweigh public interest, the need for deterrence, and justice for the deceased.
The prosecution urged the court to consider the nature and extent of injuries sustained by the deceased, as well as the manner of commission of the crime, which showed that the deceased was brutally injured and sustained a tremendous amount of pain before her passing.
The prosecution emphasised that the deceased in this case was Arden's own sister.