FASTAQIM ....

Homeless man freed of murder charge

KUALA LUMPUR: A homeless man was freed of a murder charge without his defence being called after the High Court ruled that the closed-circuit television recording tendered as evidence, which captured the alleged assault, was inadmissible.

Judge Amelia Tee Hong Geok Abdullah, in acquitting Mohd Abdul Aziz Ibrahim, 24, said there was no oral evidence to prove the recording was produced by a computer in the course of its ordinary use.

Amelia said the prosecution had also failed to produce documented proof of the CCTV recording.

Abdul Aziz, who lived under a bridge near the Klang bus station, here, was charged with the murder of a Myanmar refugee known as Bar Bar, in Restoran Shukran, Wisma Cahaya Suria, Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock on Oct 15, 2011.

The judge noted that the prosecution's case was primarily based on the CCTV recording from Restoran Shukran.

She added that the court found that without the evidence of the recording, the prosecution had failed to establish that it was the accused who had caused the death of the deceased.

"The court has to ask itself this question: If I call on the accused to enter his defence, and if he elects to remain silent, am I prepared to convict him based solely on the evidence adduced by the prosecution?

"The court is of the view that without the evidence of the CCTV recording, the answer is a loud and resounding 'no'," Amelia said.

The judge added that she was also unable to find a prima facie case made out on any lesser charge.

Deputy public prosecutor P. Viknesvaran prosecuted, while Abdul Aziz was represented by counsel Halim Ashgar Hilmi.

Read more: Homeless man freed of murder charge - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/homeless-man-freed-of-murder-charge-1.296155#ixzz2VywVsTxh