TAWAU: The Tawau High Court today sentenced Nurima Juli to 20 years imprisonment after she pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of causing the death of her former husband, e-hailing driver Nurman Bakaratu, two years ago.
Meanwhile, Nurima’s stepbrother, Sadam Kiram, 30, was acquitted and discharged of the same alternative charge under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code.
Judge Datuk Dr Lim Hock Leng ordered the 35-year-old to begin serving her sentence from the date of her re-indictment on April 26, 2024.
“Having considered the submissions of learned counsel for accused (Nurima) and the learned DPPs, and bearing in mind the paramount objective of public interest, the facts of the case and sentencing precedents, the court finds it appropriate to order the accused to serve a term of imprisonment of 20 years.
“In passing sentence, the court is mindful that the accused (Nurima) had pleaded guilty before the start of this trial,“ he said.
According to the alternative charge, Nurima and Sadam were accused of causing the death of 61-year-old Nurman Bakaratu at an oil palm plantation near Jalan Anjur Juara, Jalan Apas Batu 5, between 7.30 pm and 11.30 pm on Jan 13, 2023.
They were charged under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which carries a penalty of up to 30 years imprisonment and a fine upon conviction.
Initially, both Nurima and Sadam had been charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code with jointly committing murder. However, the court today allowed the prosecution’s application to withdraw the original charge.
Nurima was previously the key witness in a separate murder trial involving the death of Nurman, which implicated former Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) chief intelligence officer Datuk Mat Zaki Md Zain and seven others before the High Court here.
However, Mat Zaki and the seven co-accused were acquitted and discharged after the prosecution decided not to proceed with the case following Nurima’s testimony, in which she admitted to stabbing Nurman inside a car.
The prosecution was led by DPPs Mustaffa P. Kunyalam and Mohammad Fakhrurrazi Ahmad Salim. Nurima and Sadam were represented by counsels Mark Rosaidey Mohd Amin and Jhassary P. Kang, respectively.
