Malaysian woman who stabbed boyfriend to death over sex demand gets 12 years

A Malaysian court has increased the sentence for a woman who stabbed her boyfriend to death after he demanded sex, following an earlier ruling that the sentencing court had been too lenient. The Court of Appeal raised the prison term for the woman, known only as Shy, from six and a half years to 12 years. The judges emphasized that the high court had placed too much importance on Shy's age while not giving enough weight to the severity of her actions.

Shy, who was 19 at the time of the incident, and her then-boyfriend, 29, had checked into a hotel in Johor Bahru on September 20, 2022. The boyfriend requested sex but Shy refused, claiming she was menstruating. He then threatened her with a knife, leading to a struggle in which she stabbed him multiple times in the chest. An autopsy revealed 28 stab wounds on the victim's body.

Initially charged with murder, Shy was later convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder after her lawyer argued for a reduced charge. The prosecution appealed the sentence, and the appellate court agreed, stating that the initial sentence did not adequately consider the gravity of the crime. The court noted that the high court had wrongly considered Shy's loss of her young defender status as a mitigating factor and that the multiple injuries, use of a knife, chest targeting, and the loss of life all warranted a more severe punishment.

Judge Evrol Mariette Peters acknowledged Shy's youth, guilty plea, remorse, lack of previous convictions, and psychiatric condition as mitigating factors, but emphasized that these had to be balanced against the severe consequences of her actions. The judge concluded that a 12-year sentence was proportionate and necessary in the public interest.