Kokulan A/L Subramaniam (NA-62-81-12/2021)

First Offender The accused is a first offender. Being a first offender, this court opined that a long imprisonment sentence is not suitable. This court is prepared to give the accused a second chance in life and believe that the accused would want to start anew. The authorities on sentencing for first offender are numerous and it is a mitigating factor for the accused.

The age of the accused The accused, although not a youthful offender, is still young enough to be given a second chance. He is not a hardcore criminal and is self employed. He can further contribute to society if given the chance.

Background leading to the offence This is the most important factor to my mind. The accused and PW5 are siblings. The Defence painstakingly adduced evidence to show the bad blood between them caused by the relationship that PW5 has with PW6. The fact that PW5 took PW6 to stay with her is not denied and what makes it worse is PW3 was staying at the same house although she had moved to Kuala Lumpur after the incident. The family members of PW5 opposed to her action but she was adamant that she treated PW6 as a younger brother. The accused never accepted this. Thus, the action of PW3, PW5 and PW6 to come to the barber shop to ask for money he owed to PW5, is akin to rubbing salt into a wound. Surely PW6 knew that he was walking into trouble when he accompanied PW3 and PW5 to see the accused. What makes it worse was DW2 was there to witness the argument. This made the accused to resort to violence to settle the score. Although this court does not condone the action of the accused, this court accepted it as a mitigating factor. Based on the above factors, the accused is sentenced to three years of imprisonment from the date of conviction. BERTARIKH: 06 Januari 2026 MEOR SULAIMAN BIN AHMAD TARMIZI HAKIM MAHKAMAH SESYEN 1, SEREMBAN. Peguam bagi pihak Perayu : Muhammad Zul Azrin bin Zainuddin, Timbalan Pendakwaraya Peguam bagi pihak Responden : Raftfizi & Rao.