KUALA LUMPUR – Sarawakians Udi Ambo and Ngumbang Abang saw their four-year freedom run cut short after the Court of Appeal reinstated their murder conviction, according to court documents dated June 13.
The three-person bench also sentenced each of them to 30 years in jail and 12 strokes of rotan for killing Jampong Jon together in 2017 due to a dispute involving chilli distribution.
They were tried before the Sibu High Court in 2017 and acquitted in August 2020 as the judge accepted that the duo acted in self-defence.
In the appeal, the prosecution said the evidence supporting the duo’s intentions to kill was overwhelming, including witness testimonies that said the duo were able to stop the deceased from attacking and that they seized the weapon.
The Court of Appeal bench – Datuk Ravinthran N. Paramaguru, Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali and Datuk Azmi Ariffin – found merits in the prosecution’s appeal.
In their defence, Udi and Ngumbang said they had gotten into a fight with the victim at a chilli farm in Ulu Sg Enseluai Sare, Sarikei in Sarawak, over the unfair distribution of chillies.
Udi testified that the victim initiated the fight and attacked him with a parang.
Out of fear, Udi said he used a knife to stab Jampong in self-defence and Ngumbang held down the victim as Udi stabbed him four times.
However, the post-mortem examination showed the cause of death to be a scrotal injury, even though the decomposed body was found at an oil palm plantation with his right sole cut off. – June 20, 2024