Siblings among 4 charged with murdering man at oil palm plantation

On August 23, four men were jointly charged in the Sungai Petani magistrates' court with the murder of Badaruddin Nayan at an oil palm plantation in Kampung Sungai Division. The accused include two brothers, Bakri Mahidin, 37, and Muhamadariff Mahidin, 26, as well as Iekram Zaki, 29, and Firdaus Che Mustafa, 36. They indicated their understanding of the charges before magistrate Noor Farah Hazwani Osman, with no plea recorded due to the offence being tried by the High Court.

The four men, comprising two general labourers, a security guard, and a car washer, are accused of killing Badaruddin Nayan, 30, between 1:30 pm and 3 pm on the same day. The charge, under Section 302 of the Penal Code in conjunction with Section 34, carries a potential death penalty or a sentence of 30 to 40 years' imprisonment, with a minimum of 12 strokes of the rotan upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Nur Hazwani Noor handled the prosecution, while lawyer Durratul 'Ain Mahmud Morshidi served as amicus curiae to inform the court of the medical needs of two of the accused. Durratul 'Ain revealed that Iekram has a disability card due to a right leg injury sustained in an accident, while Bakri suffers from asthma.

Both accused require medical attention during the trial, which the court stated would be lengthy. The prison authorities will manage the medical needs of the accused. The court denied bail to all the accused and set November 15 for the next mention.