Cop gets death sentence for involvement in fatal robbery

A police inspector was sent to the gallows by the High Court here today for being an accomplice in a robbery and fatal shooting at a goldsmith shop seven years ago.

Mohd Taufik Peter Abdullah, 49, was found to have allowed his pistol to be used by S. Nagendran when they were robbing the Max Goldsmith & Jewellery shop in Jalan Sultan Iskandar here between 3.30pm and 5.10pm on Sept 16, 2009.

The shop owner, Chen Fun Kee, was shot dead by Nagendran using Mohd Taufik's pistol.

Judge Datuk Samsudin Hassan made the decision after the defence failed to raise a reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case, besides finding inconsistencies in the accused's statements.

He said the three defence witnesses were also related to Mohd Taufik, as they were his wife, mother and aunt, hence making it understandable that they would be siding with the accused.

However, their statements were not only different from his, but also failed to prove his defence of alibi, the judge said.

Mohd Taufik, who has been suspended from his duties at the state police narcotics department, was initially charged with murder, but the charged was amended to one under Section 3A of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 for being an accomplice in fatal shooting.

He appeared calm when the judge read the sentence.

Deputy public prosecutor Harris Ong Mohd Jeffrey Ong prosecuted, while the accused was represented by lawyers Datuk Naran Singh, Muhammad Farhan Ahmad Fadzir and Ashvinder Kaur.

A total of 26 prosecution witnesses testified throughout the trial which began on March 28, 2011.