TAWAU, Sept 24 — A woman and her stepbrother were charged in the High Court here today with the murder of her former husband, an e-hailing driver, last year.

However, Nurima Juli, 34, and Sadam Kiram, 30, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out to them before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.

They were accused of reaching a common intention to kill Nurman Bakaratu, 61, at an oil palm plantation near Jalan Anjur Juara, Batu 5 Jalan Apas, here, between 7.30pm and 11.30pm on January 13, 2023.

The charge, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same act, carries the death penalty or imprisonment of up to 40 years and a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.

Duncan set October 18 for case management, pending his application to the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak to recuse himself from hearing the case.

During the proceedings, Duncan explained that he could not preside over the case to avoid potential injustice and biased judgment, as he had previously served as the judge in the murder case where Nurima was the prosecution’s main witness.

The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Nur Nisla Abdul Latif, representing DPP Mohamad Fakhrurazi Ahmad Salim. Nurima was represented by lawyer Mark Rosaidey Mohd Amin, while lawyer Jhassary P Kang acted on behalf of Sadam.

On January 25, the High Court here freed former Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) Intelligence chief Datuk Mat Zaki Md Zain, and seven others of murder and conspiracy charges in the murder trial involving Nurman, after his former wife confessed to killing him. — Bernama