Judge Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya passed the sentence on Asni Omar, 39, of Kampung Tekek, who was found guilty of the murder of Stephanie Foray, 30, at a house in Kampung Tekek between 8 pm on May 10 and noon on May 12, 2011.
The charge faced by Asni under Section 302 of the Penal Code provides for the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Mariana said Asni’s excuses and explanations during the trial were mere denials and the evidence adduced during his defence indicated that he was the last person to have been with Foray on May 10, 2011.
She said Asni had knowledge of the directional guide he had provided on Aug 8, 2011, to a nearby cave where Foray’s body had been hidden and that he had known of her death.
“There is no doubt about the involvement of the accused (Asni) in this case as the victim’s (Foray’s) belongings were found in a room in his house and blood found splattered on a wall was the victim’s as confirmed by the Chemistry Department.
“The court finds that the evidence adduced by the accused is a cooked-up story to show that he is not guilty, but the testimony only weakened the case for the defence,” she said.
The prosecution had called 45 witnesses and the defence, five.
Deputy public prosecutors Amer Abu Bakar Abdullah, Nor Azizah Mohamed, Farhah Nazari and Salim Soib alias Hamid appeared for the prosecution while Asni was represented by counsel Datuk Ng See Teong, Mohd Hisham Abd Rahim and Ibrahim Kamaruddin.
Foray’s parents, Joel Foray and Irene Mortel, had attended court and, according to counsel Amy Ling who held a watching brief, they were relieved that justice had been served.
— BERNAMA
