26-05-2025
Football mad e-hailing driver's murder case transferred to the High Court
KUCHING: The case of an e-hailing driver charged with murdering his first-time date to steal her jewellery to fund his trip to an international football match in Phnom Penh last year has been transferred to the High Court.
Magistrate Syarifah Fatimah Azura Wan Ali made the order today when the case was brought up for mention before her today.
Zakwan Mokhtar, 23, was charged under Section 320 of the Penal Code with murdering Nurul Asikin Lan in December last year.
He was alleged to have done so to steal her gold bracelet and earrings, which he intended to pawn to fund his trip to watch Malaysia play Cambodia in the 2024 Mitsubishi Electric Asean Cup football tournament in Phnom Penh on Dec 8.
If found guilty, Zakwan faces the death sentence or imprisonment of 30 to 40 years, along with a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane if not sentenced to death.
Deputy public prosecutor Jean Siow Chung Hwei informed the court today that the post-mortem examination report on the 28-year-old victim, fondly known as "Amoi" to family members and friends, and the retrieval of the WhatsApp messages between the suspect and the victim have been completed.
Zakwan, who was unrepresented, only nodded his head in acknowledgment when the murder charge was read to him by a court interpreter.
On Dec 14, Nurul Asikin's highly decomposed body was discovered in a drain along Jalan Setia Raja in the residential housing area of Tabuan Jaya.
Zakwan was arrested on the same day the body was found.
This case attracted public attention after the accused, during police interrogation, was said to have confessed to the murder and his motive for the killing.
He was charged later that same month.
