KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 — Two men have been sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Ipoh High Court after pleading guilty to an alternative charge of causing the death of a man whose burned body was found in a car on an oil palm estate seven years ago.
Buletin TV3 reported that Judge Datuk Bhupindar Singh Gucharan Singh Preet handed down the sentence on Wong Mun Fai and Tan Chun How, both 33, with the jail term to run from the date of their arrest on November 15, 2018.
The pair were convicted under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code for causing the death of 21-year-old Heng Wei Yong without intent to murder.
The incident took place between 12.05am and 12.30am on November 15, 2018, at the entrance to an oil palm estate near an 11KV electric pole along Jalan Kampung Banjar in Teluk Intan, Hilir Perak.
Post-mortem findings showed multiple stab wounds on the victim’s charred body. A forensic pathologist determined that the stab wounds were the cause of death, ruling out the fire as the fatal factor.
According to case details, a key prosecution witness known as SP29, who was also detained following the incident, testified that Wong and Tan were the last people seen with the victim. The witness also said another person had been present with the two men.
SP29 further confirmed that a fire broke out in a car at the scene, after which only Wong and Tan got into the vehicle, which was driven by the witness. The prosecution said the victim had died from stab wounds and that his body was set alight to conceal his identity.
“Based on the overall evidence presented, it is clear the two accused committed the act that caused the victim’s death,” the prosecution stated.
Deputy public prosecutor Nasrul Hadi Abdul Ghani led the case, while Wong was represented by Datuk Naran Singh and Amrick Singh Sandu, and Tan by V Santhiran.
In mitigation, Naran said his client was the sole breadwinner supporting his 66-year-old mother, while Santhiran told the court his client, a widower with four children, had previously earned RM2,000 a month as a contract worker. Both men had no prior criminal records.
