High Court sets Aug 17 for mention in Sabari Baharom murder case

New Straits Times

9 hours ago

ALOR STAR: The High Court here has fixed Aug 17 for mention of a murder case involving a contractor and his nephew, who are accused of killing retired Felcra employee Sabari Baharom, 62, last year.
Judge Datuk Mohamad Abazafree Mohd Abbas set the date after being informed that the defence had yet to complete the required document submissions.
Deputy public prosecutor Kamaliza Md Zain appeared for the prosecution, while both accused were represented by counsel T. Jayaraj.
Family members of the late Sabari were present during the proceedings.
On April 15, the accused, Mazuan Hanafi, 39, and Muhd Asyraf Idris, 27, claimed trial at the High Court to the charge of murdering Sabari on Sept 4, 2024.
According to the charge, the two were jointly accused of killing the victim on a bridge in Kampung Empa, along Sungai Padang Terap in Kubang Pasu, at around 5.30am.
The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, which carries the mandatory death penalty, or, if not sentenced to death, imprisonment for a minimum of 30 years and up to 40 years.
Sabari, who lived alone in Kampung Mengkuang Tengah, Kuala Pegang, Baling, was reported missing on Sept 4 last year.
The case was reclassified as a murder investigation on Sept 30, after police arrested two main suspects, who were previously carrying out renovation work at a neighbour's house.
Kedah police chief Datuk Fisol Salleh reportedly said the suspects confessed to binding Sabari's hands, taping his mouth, and dumping him into Sungai Padang Terap.
Investigators believe the victim was abducted after recognising the suspects during a break-in at his home.
It was previously reported that one of the suspects, a contractor, was allegedly a gambling addict who used RM16,000 from Sabari's bank account to gamble in Batam, Indonesia.