Senior citizen claims trial to murdering ex-fiancée

Piluta Samad, a 72-year-old man, appeared in the Kota Kinabalu High Court on September 8 to plead not guilty to the murder of his ex-fiancée, Hamidah Husin, 44. Hamidah's body, which had been dismembered, was discovered in a rubbish bin in Sepanggar, Sabah, in February. Piluta was first charged in the magistrates' court on February 27, before the case was transferred to the High Court on September 8 after a psychiatric evaluation confirmed he was fit to stand trial on July 23.

During the proceedings, Piluta's lawyers, including Ram Singh, Joan Goh, Ian Vun, Prem Elmer Ganasan, and Prabjit Singh Gill, were joined by Sabah prosecution director Naziah Mokhtar and deputy public prosecutor Samira Khalili. The charge against Piluta was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which can result in either the death penalty or a sentence of 30 to 40 years in prison. The court has set October 19 for case management.