TAWAU: A 16-year-old Indonesian juvenile who murdered her 13-year-old fellow Indonesian girlfriend at an oil palm estate three years ago, was sentenced by the High Court on Thursday, to imprisonment until the pleasure of the Head of State (TYT) of Sabah pursuant to Section 97(2)(b) of the Child Act 2001.
Judicial Commissioner Steve Ritikos, in his judgment, said the court was of the view that public interest outweighed the factors put forward by the defence in imposing the sentence.
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He said the court considered the facts of the case, public interest, and the social report prepared by an officer from the Tawau Social Welfare Department (JKM) concerning the Indonesian juvenile.
The JKM had earlier informed the court that the social report found the juvenile to be of good behaviour, but lacking in affection as his mother worked to support the family following his father’s death.
Earlier, on Feb 26, the juvenile who was 13 at the time of the incident, was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend, also an Indonesian, Nur Zahirah Safarudin, between 12.30pm and 2.30pm on Jan 4, 2023.
The victim was found in a drain in an oil palm plantation area in Kalabakan with head injuries.
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At that time, Steve convicted the juvenile under Section 302 of the Penal Code after the court was satisfied that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case, and fixed April 8 for mention to hear the social report from the JKM officer.
The proceedings were conducted under Section 90(12) of the Child Act 2001, as the juvenile was still a minor at the time of the offence, before sentencing was determined.
On Dec 10, 2025, the court ordered the juvenile to enter his defence after the prosecution had successfully established a prima facie case.
The trial began on Oct 13, 2025, with the prosecution calling 20 witnesses to testify, while the defence presented three witnesses.
On August 13, 2024, the juvenile who holds an Indonesian passport, was accused of murdering his girlfriend.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Nisla Abd Latif conducted the prosecution while the juvenile was represented by counsel Liew Hon Min.
