Jobless youth gets murder charge over fatal strangling of Polisas student in Kuantan

On October 12, a 19-year-old unemployed youth, Alan Stevekumar, was charged in the Kuantan Magistrate's Court with the murder of a female polytechnic student, M. Elisa Jonova. Alan, originally from Perak, is accused of killing Elisa between 4:32am and 4:55am on October 6 at a rented house in Air Putih, Kuantan. The charge is under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which can result in either the death penalty or imprisonment of 30 to 40 years, along with at least 12 strokes of the cane if the death penalty is not imposed upon conviction.

Elisa, a student at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Polytechnic (Polisas), was found unconscious on a bed in her rented room early on October 6. Police discovered pressure marks on her neck, confirming that she had been strangled due to a domestic dispute. Alan, clad in a black T-shirt, red shorts, and a face mask, appeared before the court under close police escort.

He was unrepresented, and his plea was not recorded as capital murder offenses are tried in the High Court. The prosecution, led by Mohd Sabri Othman, requested an adjournment to obtain and review Elisa's post-mortem and toxicology reports. The case is set to be mentioned again on November 12.