KOTA KINABALU: An unemployed local man was ordered by the Sessions Court here to enter his defence on a charge of causing the death of a man three years ago.
Judge Caroline Bee Majanil made the decision on Mohd Saddam Gapar, 21, after she ruled that the prosecution had made out a prima facie case against the accused.
Saddam was charged under Section 304 (a) of the Penal Code which carries a maximum jail term of 20 years and a fine.
Majanil fixed Jan 21–22 next year for the hearing of Saddam’s defence.
The accused allegedly committed culpable homicide not amounting to murder of a local man, aged 34, at an entertainment center in Jalan Tuaran at 4.22 am on April 11, 2010
Deputy public prosecutor Afzan Abd Kahar called 30 witnesses to testify in the trial which began on Sept 26, 2011.
The accused, who was represented by counsels Hj Ansari Abdullah, Erveana Hj Ansari and Farazwin Haxdy, is currently released on a bail pending disposal of the case.
In the same court yesterday, three men were freed from rape charges.
Rubber tapper Kerrymon Sungin, 20, farmer Morin Tyunan, 45, and 17-year-old boy, also a rubber tapper, were granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.
The court made the decision after being informed by deputy public prosecutor Afzan Abd Kahar that the woman who was allegedly raped by the riverside in a village in Kota Belud on Oct 29 had decided to withdraw her police report against the three men.