Myanmar man acquitted of 2020 murder in Simpang Ampat

A Myanmar man, Aung Htoo, has been acquitted by the High Court of murdering his fellow countryman, Myo Oo, in 2020. The court ruled that the prosecution had failed to provide sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case against Aung under Section 302 of the Penal Code. The murder charge stemmed from an incident in Simpang Ampat's Bandar Tasek Mutiara, where Aung and Myo were both brought to Sungai Bakap Hospital with injuries on January 2, 2020.

Myo was pronounced dead at 4:45 am, and a post-mortem confirmed his death was caused by severe blood loss from a sharp-force injury to the heart. The court accepted that Aung knew the location of a pair of scissors and led police to their whereabouts. However, this did not prove Aung used the scissors to cause the fatal injury. The court also noted that the scissors' shape did not match the fatal wound, and no DNA or fingerprints belonging to Aung were found on the scissors' handle.

Although DNA from both Aung and Myo was found beneath Myo's fingernails, indicating possible physical contact or a struggle, the court deemed this evidence insufficient to prove Aung's involvement in the fatal wound. Additionally, Aung suffered injuries, and Myo's blood was found beneath his fingernails. The court took these factors into account and ruled that the prosecution had not established a prima facie case, leading to Aung's acquittal.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Sariza Ismail argued for the prosecution, while Aung was represented by lawyer T. Turuvandran.