SHAH ALAM: Two friends were sentenced to 10 years jail after admitting to have attempted to kill a woman after assaulting and stuffing her in a gunny sack before throwing her into the river.
Mohamad Aidilfitri Mohd Powet and Muhammad Afiq Jamli, both 21, who were jointly charged under Section 307 of the Penal Code pleaded guilty to the offence before Sessions Court judge Slamat Yahya today.
Before the judge passed down the sentence, the victim, Indonesian Misnah Sri Wahyunengsih took the stand and gave her Victim Impact Statement (VIS).
Misnah said she was extremely traumatised by the incident to the extent that she was afraid to drink water.
"I am still traumatised... I could not sleep and the incident kept on playing inside my mind and into my dreams. My body, it still hurts until now and I am scared of the water," she said, appearing frightened by the presence of both accused in the courtroom.
The duo were accused of having assaulted the woman, by bundling her into a gunny sack, bounding her feet and throwing her into the Klang River with the intention to kill her.
The offence happened at the Kemuning-Shah Alam Highway (LKSA) in Seksyen 24 here at 11am on Feb 6.
Mohamad Aidilfitri, in his social report read out by a Selangor Social Welfare Department officer, admitted that he had committed the offence because the victim had spoken badly about his mother and he wanted to defend his mother's pride.
According to the facts of the case, the victim was tricked by Mohamad Aidilfitri who told her that he would help to cure her of some ailment.
The victim then got into the accused's blue Toyota van and followed his instructions before the second accused (Muhammad Afiq) who was also inside the van covered her face using a paraffin-laced glove and tried to break her neck.
The accused then beat up the victim with a pipe and hit her head until she became unconscious. She was also slapped on the face repeatedly.
The first accused later stopped his van at the Klang River bridge and using a tape, both of them tied the victim's leg, stuffed her in a gunny sack and threw her into the river.
A passer-by who saw the woman shouting for help and covered with blood, alerted the Fire and Rescue Department and police, who then rescued her.
Deputy public prosecutor Naliatul Huzaimi Ab Rasip prosecuted while Muhammad Afiq was represented by counsel Salim Basheer.
Mohamad Aidilfitri was unrepresented.
The court ordered for their sentences to run from the date of their arrest on Feb 7.
Both the accused were later seen hugging their family members before being brought out of the court.
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