PUTRAJAYA: A couple escaped the gallows on Wednesday (March 20) after the Court of Appeal substituted their murder charge with committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder for the death of their eight-year-old son.

       A three-member panel of judges led by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail sentenced Aaron Teoh Eng Wan and his wife En Sit Mooi to 30 years' imprisonment, starting from the date of their arrest on May 26, 2017.

       ALSO READ: Couple sentenced to death for murdering son

       The two other judges were Justices Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and SM Komathy Suppiah.

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       Justice Hadhariah, in delivering the court’s decision, set aside the couple’s murder conviction and death sentence and convicted them on the charge of committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

       She said High Court Judge Noorin Badaruddin made an error when she did not distinguish the difference between Section 299 and Section 300 of the Penal Code and this warranted appellate intervention.

       Eng Wan, 40, and En, 43, were convicted of causing the death of Adrian Teoh Wai Kit, the elder of their two children, at a premises in Regalia Business Centre, Subang Jaya, between 2pm and 3.30pm on May 26, 2017.

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       Lawyers S. Jayananda Rao and Saladin Mohd Yasin, representing Eng Wan and En, respectively, argued that the couple should not be convicted of murder but on a lesser charge of committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

       On May 21, 2021, the High Court in Shah Alam sentenced the couple to death after finding them guilty of killing their son.

       The High Court also sentenced Eng Wan to eight years in jail for another charge of abuse which resulted in injuries to the victim. Eng Wan, however, withdrew his appeal on Wednesday against this decision as he has already served the sentence.

       The testimony of prosecution witnesses such as the chemist confirmed that there was deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) belonging to Eng Wan and the victim on a cane found at the scene and the CCTV recording at the premises showed En dragging the weak and feeble victim several times.

       Deputy Public Prosecutor Zulkifli Abdullah appeared for the prosecution. - Bernama