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Ahmadul Kobir, Malaysia: The reading of charges against a Bangladeshi man accused of killing three fellow Bangladeshi workers in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan, has been postponed after a Malaysian court found that he had difficulty understanding Malay.
The court fixed Thursday, August 13, for the charges to be read again in a language the accused can understand.
The accused, Mohd Idris Ali, 43, appeared before the Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. He faces charges over the deaths of three Bangladeshi nationals, Mohd Nazrul Islam, Mohasin and Kiran Mia.
The charges were initially read in Malay before Magistrate Nurul Sakinah Rosli, with Idris nodding to indicate that he understood them. However, the court later found that he did not fully comprehend the charges. A Bangladeshi interpreter was therefore brought in, and the court ordered that the charges be read again in a language familiar to him.
According to the charges, the three men were killed earlier this month between 3:30pm and 4pm at a back alley behind a house in Taman Linggi and at a palm plantation in Sawa Mangis, Port Dickson.
The murder charges were brought under Section 302 of the Penal Code. If convicted, Idris could face the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years. If the death penalty is not imposed, the sentence may also include up to 12 strokes of whipping.
Idris also faces a separate charge of attempting to murder another Bangladeshi national, Mohd Kajol Mondol, in connection with the same incident. The alleged attempt took place at around 4pm in Taman Linggi.
The attempted murder charge was brought under Section 307 of the Penal Code at the Sessions Court, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine.
Sessions Court Judge Tasnim Abu Bakar also fixed August 13 for the charge to be read again in a language understood by the accused.
Negeri Sembilan Public Prosecutor’s Director Inku Ahmad Rashdi Inku Abdullah said no bail application had been filed for the accused.