Two Thai men have been charged in the Kangar magistrates’ court with murdering a Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) officer near a fisheries jetty in Perlis last month.
Pradit Rimat, 22, and Rotchahan Tehpuyu, 21, are jointly accused of killing Roshaimi Ridzuan, 41, near the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority jetty in Sungai Padang, Kangar, between 11pm on Oct 26 and 1.30am on Oct 27.
The charge, under Section 302 of the Penal Code read with Section 34, was read to them in Thai through an interpreter before magistrate Ana Rozana Nor. No plea was recorded, as murder cases are tried in the High Court. If convicted, they face the death penalty or 30 to 40 years in prison and at least 12 strokes of the cane.
The court denied them bail and fixed Jan 5 next year for mention, pending post-mortem and chemical reports. Neither man was represented.
At the Sessions Court in Kangar, the pair were also charged with smuggling nine Myanmar migrants in an unregistered boat off the mouth of Sungai Padang during the same period. The offence carries up to five years in prison, a fine of up to RM250,000, or both. No plea was recorded.
They pleaded guilty to a separate charge of entering Malaysia through an unauthorised route, but the prosecution asked for a new mention date as it is still awaiting documents from the immigration department. Both cases will be mentioned again on Dec 15.