Tompo being escorted by Prisons Department officers at the courthouse.
KUCHING: A plantation worker yesterday escaped the gallows after the Court of Appeal here reduced his charge from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder of his wife two years ago.
A three-man bench chaired by Justice Datuk David Wong Dak Wah ruled that there were merits in the appellant’s appeal and allowed his appeal to set aside his conviction and death sentence for murder.
The 36-year-old Tompo however would have to serve 18 years in jail as the court found him guilty of causing the death of his wife Salasiah Jama. He was convicted under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code.
The court also ordered him to serve his sentence from the date of his arrest, Jan 1, 2014.
In the dock, the appellant was seen heaving a sigh of relief on hearing the court’s verdict.
In the ruling, Justice Wong said submission by his defence counsel Ranbir S Sangha had raised doubts on the case.
Rambir submitted to court that provocation between both of them had caused the tragic incident which cost the life of the then 30-year-old deceased who hailed from Indonesia.
Meanwhile, DPP Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud who prosecuted the case urged the court to impose a sentence of between 21 and 25 years’ jail taking into account the nature of the offence.
He said the incident was a domestic violence and unjustified considering that any problem could be discussed in a peaceful manner but this one had caused loss of life.
The number of injuries sustained by the deceased as she had no way to escape from the locked room was the aggravating factor, he added.
Other judges were Datuk Dr Prasad Sandosham Abraham and Dato Mary Lim Thiam Suan.
It was learned that the couple had one son who stayed with his grandparents back home in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
On May 30 last year, Tompo was sentenced to six months in jail for the offence of attempting suicide.
In the incident that happened around 2am on Jan 16, 2014 after causing the death of his wife with a knife, he had used the same knife to stab his stomach and slash his throat.
For attempted suicide, he was convicted under Section 309 of the Penal Code.