Fisherman accused of fatally abusing wife

KUALA SELANGOR - A fisherman accused of abusing his wife to death was brought before the Magistrate's Court here on Wednesday.

The accused, T Balamurugan, 35, clad in purple lock-up clothing, nodded in understanding when the charges were read in front of Magistrate Siti Hajar Ali.

However, no pleas were recorded during the proceedings.

The charges saw the father of three accused of killing K Komalah, 38, at a home in Jalan Bagan Sungai Janggut Jeram, here, between 11am to 4.30pm on Sept 2.

Balamurugan was accused of committing the offence under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carried a death sentence or a prison sentence of at least 30 years if found guilty.

If not sentenced to death, the accused could be charged with a minimum of 12 strokes.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Muhammad Afiq QIwamuddin Mustapha Shakri who managed the case, did not offer a security for cost to the accused.

"In addition, the prosecution requested a period to prepare documents or reports related to the case, including forensic, chemical, and postmortem reports," he said.

Lawye Vinesh Segar, who represented Balamurugan, requested for the process to be expedited and the case transferred to the High Court.

Siti Hajar set the mention of the case for the preparation of the reports on Dec 13.

Sinar previously reported that police arrested a man after he was suspected of abusing his wife to death on Sept 2.

Kuala Selangor district police chief Superintendent Ramli Kasa said the 35-year-old man was arrested the following day after he turned himself in at the Kuala Selangor District Police Headquarters (IPD) at around 5pm.