Latest news with #JusticeShamsulbahriIbrahim
Free Malaysia Today
19-05-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
High Court halves celebrity preacher's jail term to 12 years
The sessions court previously sentenced Azman Syah Alias to 12 years in jail and one stroke of the rotan for each charge, with the prison sentences to run consecutively. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : The Shah Alam High Court has reduced former celebrity preacher Azman Syah Alias's jail term from 24 years to 12, after allowing his appeal for the sentences to be served concurrently. Justice Shamsulbahri Ibrahim delivered the ruling after reviewing written and oral submissions from both the defence and prosecution. However, he upheld the sentence of two strokes of the rotan, Kosmo reported. 'For the two counts of physical sexual assault, since they involved the same witnesses and are part of the same case, I find it appropriate for the sentences to run concurrently,' he was quoted as saying. Defence counsel Fahmi Adilah argued that both charges stemmed from the same case and involved the same victim and witnesses. He said the sessions court had erred by not considering Section 102 of the Subordinate Courts Act, which limits the total sentence to 20 years. He said the High Court's intervention was justified, as there was no delay in the trial, and it was conducted under a single case number. Deputy public prosecutor Tengku Najiha Zahari however maintained that the sessions court's original decision was fair and not excessive. She said there was no continuity of action in the case and although the two charges were heard together and the same witnesses called, it did not justify the concurrent sentencing. She had urged the court to consider public interest, saying Azman's position as a preacher and the age of the victim warranted a firm sentence. The sessions court previously sentenced Azman, 44, to 12 years in jail and one stroke of the rotan for each charge. The court also ordered the prison sentences to run consecutively. Azman was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy at a homestay in Kampung Sungai Udang on Feb 20 and June 29, 2022. The charge was framed under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, which carries a jail term of up to 20 years and a caning.
Free Malaysia Today
16-05-2025
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Dance instructor awarded RM400k in medical negligence suit
The 48-year-old woman was awarded damages in the sum of RM400,815.45, including RM300,000 for pain and suffering after a botched surgery on her reproductive organs at the Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Bahru seven years ago. (File pic) PETALING JAYA : The Johor Bahru High Court has ordered the government to pay approximately RM400,000 in damages to a dance instructor after ruling in her favour in a medical negligence suit following an assessment of damages on Tuesday. The case stemmed from a surgery six years ago in which both her ovaries and fallopian tubes were removed. Justice Shamsulbahri Ibrahim awarded the 48-year-old woman RM400,815.45 overall, including RM300,000 for pain and suffering. She also succeeded in recovering RM35,000 for loss of earnings over a period of 21 months, reimbursement of RM9,652.50, being the cost of treatment received in India, and expenses for travel and accommodation incurred. The suit, filed in 2021, named the government, the director of the Sultan Ismail Hospital in Johor Bahru and five doctors who were involved in surgery carried out on the woman on Dec 24, 2018. The government admitted liability, leaving only damages to be assessed by the court. The woman had been admitted for an abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy surgery. Following the surgery, she discovered blood in her urine. She also developed a stomach ache and breathing difficulties, and had to be given a blood transfusion as she was suspected to have suffered a bladder injury. The woman then underwent another exploratory surgery on Dec 31, 2018 and was admitted to the hospital's intensive care unit to treat internal bleeding. Although discharged, she continued to suffer from urine incontinence, vaginal leakage and other complications which continued for several weeks. She was scheduled to be referred to the urology department at Hospital Sultanah Aminah. On Feb 18, 2019, she sought a second opinion from a hospital in Chennai, India, which found a bladder tear extending to the vagina, suggestive of vesicovaginal fistula (VVF). She shared the examination results with the Sultan Ismail Hospital. Following the failure of conservative treatment over several months, she was advised to undergo corrective surgery in September 2019. Despite the surgery, she continued to develop vaginal leakage and a recurrence of VVF. She was then advised that further corrective surgery would be required in future. The woman sought treatment and surgery in Chennai, India, which resolved her health issues. She was represented by lawyers R Jayabalan and Christopher Tan while senior federal counsel Barath Manian appeared for the government.
