SEREMBAN, Aug 18 — A former factory worker was sentenced to 38 years in jail and 17 strokes of the rotan by the High Court here today after finding him guilty of murdering his brother-in-law and injuring another man, seven years ago.

Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah meted out the sentence on Taufik Hidayah Abdullah, 34, after the defence failed to raise reasonable doubts on both charges brought against the accused at the end of the defence’s case.

For the murder charge, the accused was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment and 12 strokes of rotan, while for the second charge, he was sentenced to eight years in jail and five strokes of rotan.

The court ordered the two sentences to run separately from the date of arrest on September 18, 2017.

According to the first charge, the accused together with two other individuals who have already died allegedly murdered Salman Raja Abdullah, 37, at the time of the incident at Jalan Besar Papan Tanda, Taman Angsamas, Mambau, at 8.30pm on August 7, 2016.

The offence was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 34 of the same law.

The accused and two others who died are charged with slashing and seriously injuring G. Suaras, 46, with a machete near the entrance of Jalan Indah Water, Mambau, on the same day under Section 326 of the Penal Code.

Based on the facts of the case, the offence allegedly resulted from a misunderstanding following a discussion on the custody of the children of the marriage between the accused and the sister-in-law of the deceased.

After the incident, the accused fled to Kedah before he was arrested on September 18, 2017.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Husni Fairos Ramly headed the prosecution while lawyer V. Gobi represented Taufik Hidayah. — Bernama