Ex-IT consultant’s 16-year
jail term for road rage
death upheld
The Court of Appeal says the conviction for culpable homicide not amounting to murder of Yew Wei Liang is safe, and the sentence not excessive.
This verdict came after a three-member bench chaired by Justice Che Ruzima Ghazali dismissed the appeal of Yew Wei Liang, 47, against his conviction and sentence.
Also on the bench hearing the appeal were Justices Zaini Mazlan and Azmi Ariffin.
The court also dismissed the prosecution’s cross-appeal seeking that Yew be convicted for murder.
Che Ruzima said both appeals lacked merit.
He said the trial judge’s finding that Yew was guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder was safe, and the sentence not excessive.
“We feel incidents of road rage should be viewed seriously and a clear message is conveyed that one cannot take the law into his or her own hands,” he said.
He said, however, that based on a video recording made by Yew’s wife, who was seated at the rear passenger seat of the car, the incident had occurred at the spur of the moment.
“There was a sudden and grave provocation by the deceased,” he said.
Yew was initially charged with murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code after repeatedly running into Syed Danial Syed Syakir, 29, on the North-South Expressway near Bandar Baru Bangi on Aug 10, 2019, resulting in his death at the scene.
However, on Dec 7, 2023, Justice Julia Ibrahim found him guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code, which carries a jail term of up to 30 years.
She sentenced him to 16 years’ jail backdated to the date of his arrest on Aug 10, 2019.
Earlier today, lawyer N Sivananthan had suggested a prison term of between seven and eight years, calling it a “situational crime”. He also argued there had been a grave and sudden provocation on the part of the deceased.
“As a result of the incident, Yew’s wife suffered a miscarriage of the couple’s first child,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Ng Siew Wee urged the bench to maintain the jail term.
She said Syed Danial’s wife became a widow as a result of the incident, while their only child lost a father.
“Public interest demands that the court impose a deterrent sentence on offenders and would-be-offenders,” she said.
Sivananthan, who was assisted by Nabila Habib and Sharifa Annafiza Al-Shahab Syed Fadzli, said he has instructions to file an appeal with the Federal Court.
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