The accused is being led out of the courtroom after the proceedings.
KUCHING (April 7): A man charged with setting fire to a two-storey house belonging to his mother will be tried in court again after his guilty plea was rejected by the Sessions Court yesterday.
Azirul Shamsul Tahir, 28, appeared before Judge Maris Agan who rejected his plea after the former, in mitigation, told him that the fire was an accident.
Azirul was charged with committing mischief by fire with intent to cause destruction to the house belonging to his mother, 73, at Kampung Malaysia Jaya in Jalan Astana here.
He said at the time of the incident, he was cleaning the house, mowing the grass, and burning rubbish when he saw a raging fire which engulfed the walls of the house.
The house was reported to be completely burnt with losses estimated to be about RM500,000.
Earlier, Azirul who has just gotten a job as a kitchen assistant, pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 436 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term up to 20 years and a fine, upon conviction.
The judge, however, did not accept the accused’s guilty plea, and the DPP Md Syafique Md Hilmie told the court not to offer him any bail.
The accused, who was not represented by a lawyer, however, applied to be released on court bail.
The judge allowed the accused to be given bail of RM5,000 in cash with a local surety, and set May 15 for the next mention.
According to previous media reports, the accused on the day of the incident was said to be smoking while burning rubbish by the side of the house when a fire suddenly broke out.
The accused, however, was reported to have remained silent and did not try to put out the fire until the villagers came.
It is also reported that the accused was involved in drug abuse and had been admitted to the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) for rehabilitation.
from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3DKLc0R
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