{
  "id": 3459546,
  "title": "Apex court rules mentally ill man need not enter defence in father’s murder case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/apex-court-rules-mentally-ill-man-need-not-enter-defence-in-fathers-3459546",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-26T06:57:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/08/26/apex-court-rules-mentally-ill-man-need-not-enter-defence-in-father-s-murder-case"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a recent ruling, the Federal Court of Malaysia has decided that a 55-year-old former shop assistant, Pang Kar Foong, does not need to enter his defence in his father's murder case. The decision was made by a three-member bench of Justices Abu Bakar Jais, Nordin Hassan, and Nazlan Ghazali, who unanimously allowed Kar Foong's appeal against a previous ruling.\n\nThe case originated from the murder of Kar Foong's 75-year-old father, Pang Ket Tai, at a house in Ipoh on September 12, 2020. Kar Foong was initially acquitted by the High Court without being called to enter his defence. However, the Court of Appeal had set aside the acquittal and ordered Kar Foong to enter his defence, leading to the current appeal.\n\nKar Foong's lawyer, Gurbachan Singh, told the court that his client suffered from a mental disorder, specifically bipolar disorder with psychotic features, which rendered him incapable of knowing the nature and consequences of his actions at the time of the alleged offence. A psychiatric report from a consultant at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta supported this claim, stating that Kar Foong had inflicted injuries on his own eyes and required surgery, resulting in impaired vision in both eyes.\n\nThe High Court had previously ordered Kar Foong to be detained at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta until the court decided whether or not to call him to enter his defence. The Federal Court maintained this detention order while upholding Kar Foong's initial acquittal, citing that this was an unusual case where the court exercised its discretion not to call for the defence.",
  "summary": "A three-member bench restores the acquittal of former shop assistant Pang Kar Foong.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Apex court rules mentally ill man need not enter defence in father’s murder case",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/26/apex-court-rules-mentally-ill-man-need-not-enter-defence-in-fathers",
        "published": "2026-08-26T06:57:29.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}