KOTA KINABALU: A woman, who claimed to be under the influence of evil spirit from her father known as “saka” when she allegedly caused the death of a former pastor, will stand trial on January 6 next year.
Sessions Court judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad set the date for the trial of Amy Lian Amparut, 27, who had earlier admitted to committing culpable homicide not amounting to the murder of 31-year-old Joshua Jasbon at a rented room in front of a restaurant at Bandaran Berjaya here at 8pm on May 8.
The undefended accused pleaded guilty to the charge under Section 304 (a) of the Penal Code repeatedly said the incident happened accidentally because at that time she was possessed by saka which she claimed had not been taken care of by her.
The indictment carries a maximum jail term of 30 years and also liable to a fine, upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Dominic Chew explained that the accused had been sent to the mental hospital and the result showed that the accused is fit to plea and stand trial.
As the prosecution was about to tender the facts of the case, the court said that the plea of the accused must be unconditional.
During the first arraignment of the case on May 16, the accused said that she was still undergoing mental treatment at the hospital.
The accused, who hails from Tenom, also said at that time that the last time she took her medicine was on April 1 this year and claimed that before the incident her mind was unstable.
She is currently detained in custody under Section 259 of the Criminal Procedure Code, pending disposal of the case.