Three Malaysian Armed Forces officers charged with causing the death of a UTM cadet plead not guilty in the Sessions Court.
KOTA TINGGI: Three Reserve Officer Training Unit instructors pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to causing the death of a Universiti Teknologi Malaysia officer cadet last year.
Major Mohd Azmi Abu Bakar, 40, Warrant Officer Mohd Norbuang Ghani, 41, and Captain Muhammad Bahaudin Abd Rashid, 30, were jointly charged before Judge Hayda Faridzal Abu Hasan.
They are accused of committing an act that led to the death of 22-year-old Syamsul Haris Shamsudin with the intention of causing injury likely to result in death.
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The alleged offence occurred on July 28 last year between 2pm and 3pm at the Ulu Tiram Utara Firing Range here.
The charge, framed under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code read with Section 34, provides for imprisonment of up to 30 years and a fine upon conviction.
The prosecution, led by Johor prosecution director Abdul Ghafar Abdul Latif, proposed bail of RM50,000 with one surety for each accused.
Judge Hayda Faridzal initially set bail at RM25,000 before reducing it to RM20,000 with one surety after hearing mitigation.
The court also ordered the three accused to surrender their passports to the court.
In his plea, Mohd Azmi asked for a lower bail amount, stating they could not afford it and had no prior disciplinary record.
He said he had served in the Malaysian Armed Forces for 21 years and that none of them had faced any disciplinary action during their service.
“What happened was not something we asked for, Your Honour,” he told the court, adding that he had welcomed his third child just 23 days ago.
The court fixed April 13 for case mention for the appointment of counsel and submission of documents.
Syamsul Haris died at Hospital Kota Tinggi on July 28 last year after undergoing training at the Army Combat Training Centre in Ulu Tiram.
He was buried at the Kampung Rinching Ulu Muslim Cemetery in Semenyih, Selangor.
On Aug 26 last year, the High Court ordered the grave to be exhumed to allow for a second post-mortem to be conducted.
That second post-mortem was carried out at Hospital Kuala Lumpur on Aug 30, and the body was reburied the same day.
On Dec 2 last year, the Attorney-General’s Chambers directed that the case be reclassified under Section 302 of the Penal Code for further investigation.
