A High Court today convicted four men for the killing of the beautiful second wife of a Malaysian prince and sentenced them to 20 years in jail each.

The four, originally charged with murdering 26-year-old former model and actress Hasleza Ishak, were found guilty o­n an amended charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, Bernama news agency reported.

The four were "bomoh" or witchdoctor Abdul Rahim Ismail, 47, palace aide Tengku Aristonsjah Tengku Mohamed, 40, carpenter Sabaruddin Non, 34, and fisherman J.Manimaran, 27.

Another bomoh Mat Saad Isa, 50, had earlier confessed to manslaughter and was sentenced to 14 years in jail. He admitted kidnapping Hasleza o­n Oct 6 last year for a fee of RM5,000, chopping her o­n the neck with his hand and throwing her off a bridge.

Her body was found under the bridge in Perak, five days after she was abducted from her car.

A bizarre tale

In a 56-page judgement, Justice Mohamed Noor Abdullah said the four defendants have failed to raise reasonable doubts and that the maximum jail sentence was imposed for their "cruel" actions.

"The court has considered how the murder occurred, from the time Hasleza was kidnapped, taken in the car, chopped and thrown from a bridge that's about five storeys high," he was quoted as saying.

"It is a very cruel act o­n the victim who was o­nly 26 years old."

The trial in the Taiping High Court in Perak state has held Malaysians spellbound as a bizarre tale of a bewitched palace, sexual jealousy and murder unfolded.

Convicted bomoh Mat Isa had told the court that the prince's middle-aged first wife, Raja Nor Mahani Raja Shahar Shah, masterminded the killing.

Lifting the spell

But Princess Mahani denied ordering her rival murdered and said she merely asked the bomohs to lift a black magic spell which she believed was causing her husband to act strangely and be cold towards her.

Princess Mahani was detained for questioning for a week shortly after the murder, before being released without charge.

Both women married Raja Jaafar Raja Muda Musa, 62, second in line to the Perak state throne, with Hasleza joining the family just months before her death. Muslim men in Malaysia are allowed to take up to four wives.

The Perak royal clan is among traditional Malay rulers in nine Malaysian states. The position of king is rotated every five years among the nine rulers. AFP