SINGAPORE: A man on trial for murdering a leader of an illegal cigarette syndicate was acquitted of murder on Thursday and convicted of a lesser charge, after the judge found that there was reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case.
The penalty for the lesser offence is either life imprisonment, or a maximum 15 years' jail, caning and a fine. Manik was tried on a murder charge with two alternatives: First, for murder if he was responsible for the fatal injury or second, for murder with common intention with two others, known only as Aziz and Mitho, who were not arrested.The prosecution urged the court to convict Manik, pointing to the"vicious" and"repeated" attacks on the victim.
She said that the bus camera footage relied on heavily by the prosecution was not of a high quality, with some dark scenes and obscured views that did not show the important details. Instead, the facts pointed away from this, said Justice Thean, as witnesses had given evidence that the plan was not to kill the victim. There was no indication that Manik had an incentive to kill the victim, instead of merely injuring him, the court heard.