THE Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court today discharged and acquitted a former Terengganu State Sports Council shooting coach of the charge of causing the death of a man 13 years ago.

Judge Nooriah Osman acquitted Zamil Ahmad Murad, 62, after finding that the defence had successfully raised reasonable doubts against the prosecution’s case.

Lawyer Rahmat Hazlan, who represented Zamil, said the court released his client after it was satisfied that the accused’s actions were in self-defence after being attacked with a “Rambo knife”.

He said 21 prosecution witnesses and three defence witnesses, including Zamil, were called in the trial held from December 7, 2020, to August 6, 2023.

The accused was charged with the intention of causing the death of Syed Haikar Iskandar Syed Mahdzar, 34, in a bushed area behind a house in Gong Badak, Kuala Nerus, between 4.15pm and 4.30pm on February 1, 2010.

The charge was framed under section 304(a) of the penal code, which carries a prison sentence of up to 30 years and a fine upon conviction.

In the incident, a man was shot dead after trying to break into the home of the shooting trainer through the back door.

The trainer in question, who was at the shooting training centre at the time, returned home after being contacted by his wife who said she saw a man trying to break into their house.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutors Engku Ahmad Rashdi Engku Abdillah and Intan Nor Hilwani Mat Rifin while Zamil was represented by a line-up of lawyers led by Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, Rahmat and Wan Mohammad Arfan Wan Othman.

Meanwhile, Shafee & Co. in a statement said that their client’s journey through the judicial system began on February 10, 2010, when he was charged with murder under section 302 of the penal code over the death of Syed Haikar Iskandar.

According to the statement, a pivotal moment occurred on February 12, 2010, when the attorney-general at the time applied for a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

Subsequently, a death inquest was held in May 2012, which provided additional layers to the case, as it concluded that Zamil was criminally involved in the cause of death, setting the stage for a prolonged legal battle.

Following the inquest’s ruling, the prosecution reduced the charge to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304(a) of the penal code. – Bernama, October 15, 2023.