6 young offenders involved in death of Batu Kawa hotel worker sent to Henry Gurney School

KUCHING (Dec 7): The Magistrates’ Court here today ordered four child offenders and two youth offenders to be sent to Henry Gurney School Puncak Borneo for their involvement in the death of a Batu Kawa hotel worker in October this year.

All six had pleaded guilty to committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The orders were made after the social reports and probation reports were presented by the Welfare Department at two separate proceedings.

Magistrate Mason Jaro Lenya Barayan ordered the four child offenders, aged between 15 and 17, to be sent to the school until they turned 21, while Magistrate Zubaidah Sharkawi ordered the two youth offenders, both aged 18, to be sent to the school for a period of three years.

All six young offenders were charged under Section 304(b) of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

They had with a common intention committed the offence at the staircase of a hotel in MJC Batu Kawa here between 12.30am and 1am on Oct 30, 2023.

Based on the facts of the case, the victim’s employer discovered a group of men had assaulted him.

The 51-year-old victim was then brought to the Batu Kawa clinic before being transferred to Sarawak General Hospital (SGH).

Upon arrival at the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the victim was in a coma and entirely dependent on oxygen respiratory assistance for survival.

His condition persisted and he died on Nov 1, 2023.

None of the child and youth offenders were represented by legal counsel.

As of today, 11 individuals, including the youth and child offenders, have been brought to court for the same case.

On Nov 16, Hartley Tuntun Jerah, 33, who was charged under Section 304(b) of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same Code, was sentenced to five years in jail.

On the same day, Ayu Abdullah, 25, who was charged under Section 109 of the Penal Code read together with Section 304(b) of the same Code for conspiring with her convicted husband Ashley Chin, 25, in causing the death of the victim, was also jailed for five years.

Meanwhile, Ashley and Albert Chin Quan Yan, 22, who were convicted under Section 304(b) of the Penal Code on Nov 10, were each sentenced to four years in jail.