PUTRAJAYA – A former MasterChef Malaysia 2012 finalist, Etiqah Siti Noorashikeen Mohd Sulong, who is being charged with murder, was allowed to be released on bail by the Court of Appeal here today pending the transfer of her case to the high court.
A three-member panel comprising justices Datuk Lee Swee Seng, Datuk Supang Lian and Datuk M. Gunalan, in a unanimous decision, allowed Etiqah bail of RM30,000 with one surety.
The court also ordered her to surrender her passport to the magistrates’ court in Kota Kinabalu and to report to the Penampang police station weekly.
Etiqah’s lawyer, Datuk Seri K. Rakhbir Singh, told reporters that Lee, who delivered the court’s decision, held that there was merit in Etiqah’s bail application and that the court was satisfied that there were special circumstances to grant bail.
The 34-year-old, who is also an engineer with Petronas, was charged together with her husband Mohammad Ambree Yunos @ Unos, 41, a contractor, in the magistrates’ court in Kota Kinabalu on December 29 last year for the murder of their maid.
No plea was recorded from Etiqah and Ambree.
According to the charge sheet, they were alleged to have killed 28-year-old Nur Afiah Daeng Damin at a house in Amber Tower, Lido Avenue, Jalan Lintas, Penampang, between December 10 and 13 last year.
Under Section 302 of the Penal Code, the offence is punishable by death, upon conviction.
In today’s court proceedings, conducted virtually, Rakhbir applied for Etiqah to be released on bail pending the trial, saying that she was ill and that her twin children are both autistic.
He applied for Etiqah to be given bail under Section 388(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which states that the court may direct that any person under the age of 16 years, or any woman or sick person accused of such an offence, be released on bail.
Rakhbir said both the magistrates’ court and high court had earlier rejected his client’s bail application.
According to Rakhbir, the case has yet to be transferred to the high court.
Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar appeared for the prosecution. – Bernama, April 26, 2022
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