Police constable Tony anak Beliang, convicted of causing the death of a doctor near a train station last year, was today sentenced to eight years in prison.

Sessions Court judge Ahmad Asnawi allowed for a stay of execution pending appeal, but increased the bail from RM10,000 to RM15,000.

Tony, 25, who was attached to the Sungai Besi police station, was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder of Dr Tai Eng Teck, 29, at the Bandar Tasik Selatan LRT station, Cheras, at about 10.20pm on Sept 20 last year.

The charge under section 304(a) of the Penal Code carries a maximum jail term of up to 20 years and a fine or both.

Tai, who was in a car with a female companion parked near the train station, was shot dead after he attempted to speed off during a police investigation.

During the trial, Tony, who admitted hearing his partner Abdul Muin shouting to him not to point the gun or shoot, said that at first he did not intend to fire but had to do so later because the car was driving towards him.

He said that after he fired the shots, the car skidded about 20m from him before he saw a Malay woman in baju kurung and headscarf emerge from the front passenger side crying and asking for help.

No justification to shoot

In reading out the judgment today, judge Ahmad said the facts of the trial revealed that Tony could not claim the right to exercise self defence as his life was never at risk throughout the incident.

"The deceased never showed any intention and action to cause harm or injury on the accused. I am of the opinion that the shots fired at the deceased in such circumstances were an act of excessive force not sanctioned by the law," he said.

Ahmad said from the testimony of Abdul Muin, it was clear that Tai was trying to manoeuvre the car to the left to avoid hitting Tony before skidding and that Tony was not directly in front of the car when the fatal shots were fired as he (Tony) had claimed.

"This inference is based on two points. Firstly, the front mirrors of the car were never broken. Secondly, the injuries sustained by the deceased revealed that the person who fired the shots was standing on the right side of the car.

"Therefore, it is clear that the accused was not standing directly opposite the car nor in any danger of being hurt. In this position, there was no justification whatsoever for the accused to fire the shots," he said.

The judge also said that Abdul Muin's warning at Tony not to point the gun or shoot at the car showed that at that point of time, the use of firearm was unnecessary.

"Further, I find that the accused showed no attempt to retreat or avoid the danger that was facing him as claimed. The accused's belief that his life or limbs were in danger was wrong, displaced and baseless," he said.

Ahmad added that Tony was too obsessed to stop the car and its occupants at any price.

"There was no basis for him to belief that the occupants in the car were criminals. His intention to cause the death of the deceased was evident from his act of firing repeatedly at the car without knowing who and how many persons as well as what they were doing in the car," Ahmad said.

Clean record

In mitigation, defence counsel Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdullah told the judge that his client had been a constable for 21 months prior to the incident with a clean and good service record.

"There were no disciplinary actions or complaints against him. He is also proud of being part of the country's police force as he is one of the very few Ibans from his village to have made into it.

"Furthermore, his suspension from the job since the tragedy and the loss of income and position due to this conviction are enough to punish him. The public's perception and prejudice towards this case is further damaging," Mohd Haniff said.

In response, deputy public prosecutor Noor Ruwena Mohd Nurdin said that the offence committed by Tony was not a trivial one and the court should sentence him to an appropriate jail term.

"Public interest should be taken into consideration and the sentence meted out must justify public perception.

"This case should also serve as a lesson to the accused and the country's security forces. A young life was lost. The deceased could have served the nation for a long time. Therefore the court should also consider this loss to the society," she said.

Tony, who was accompanied by his wife and Sungai Besi police station chief inspector Rapolla Abdul Satar, appeared calm when the sentence was passed. His wife, who is a police officer, was however in tears. The couple were married last year and have a 10-month-old baby.