Girl charged with culpable homicide over death of brother

JOHOR BAHRU: A teenage girl was charged in the Juvenile Court here today with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, for causing the death of her younger brother last week.

However, the girl, who is 17 years and 11 months old, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out to her by a court interpreter, before Magistrate Zhuhainie Zull Kafli.

According to the charge sheet, the eldest of five siblings is accused of causing the death of her 16-year-old brother.

The offence was committed at a house in Jalan Mini Stadium, Kampung Ulu Pulai, Ulu Choh, here, on Oct 19 at about 1.50 pm.

The girl was charged under Section 304 (b) of the Penal Code which, if convicted, can be punished with a maximum of 10 years in prison or a fine or both.

Speaking to reporters outside the court, the prosecution, represented by Johor prosecution director, Tengku Amir Zaki Tengku Abdul Rahman and deputy public prosecutor, Hayatul Wirdah Mohd Yunos, said that bail of RM10,000 was proposed for the girl.

However, the defence counsels, Abd Rahim Ali, Jihad Syahida Nadia Zakaria and Nur Zafirah Norizan, appealed for the bail amount to be reduced on the grounds that the accused was a minor.

Abd Rahim said the appeal was made on the ground that the accused was a minor and there was no reason for her to flee.

"In addition, we also take into account the family's income and her schooling background, that by next year the accused will sit for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM)," he said outside the court.

Zhuhainie then set a bail of RM10,000 in one surety, with the additional condition that the accused must report to the Gelang Patah police station once a month.

It is understood that the girl's father had posted the bail.

The court set Dec 5 for mention.

On Oct 19, the media reported that a teenage girl was alleged to have thrown a knife at her brother following a misunderstanding, in an incident in Ulu Pulai, Ulu Choh near Iskandar Puteri.

The results of the post-mortem confirmed the cause of the younger brother's death was due to the stabbing with the tip of the vegetable cutting knife, which hit the main blood vessel (artery) on the right side of his neck, thus causing excessive bleeding.

-- BERNAMA