Justice Norliza Othman found that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against freelance interpreter Leong Eng Eng, 41, and two men – Lim Yon Hay, 40, and Mok Kum Lun, 41.
“Accordingly, all three of you are acquitted and discharged without being called to enter your defence on these charges,” she said.
Norliza also allowed a charge against Yon Hay’s brother, Yon Loon, to be withdrawn after he died of tuberculosis last year, Berita Harian reported.
The four had been charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, read together with Sections 34 and 109 of the code.
Leong, together with the Lim brothers and Mok, were accused of abetting in the death of Chow Tiam Hee, 41, at a house in Taman Anika Baru, Sungai Udang, at about 1.20am on Sept 15, 2022.
Twenty-two prosecution witnesses testified during the trial, which began in September 2023.
Issues in the evidence
In her judgment, Norliza said the prosecution had failed to prove the essential elements of the offence, whether through direct witness testimony or circumstantial evidence, that all the accused had committed or abetted in the killing.
“To prove that Leong murdered her husband, the prosecution needed more than merely pointing to bloodstains on her clothing.
“The CCTV footage presented by the prosecution was largely unclear, except for Leong, who was the only woman seen in the footage, and there was nothing unusual about her presence, as she was at her own home,” she said.
She said investigators had failed to establish the chain of events linking all the accused, including who were present at the house that night, and their connection to Leong.
Norliza pointed out that there was no evidence tendered to show that a sum of RM2,600 was allegedly made to Yon Hay to carry out the murder.
“There were also investigative shortcomings, including the absence of crucial footage of any struggle to show that all the accused were involved in the altercation that led to the victim’s injuries,” she said.
The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Nurul Ashiqin Zulkifli. Leong was represented by Daud Leong Abdullah; Yon Hay by Tan Choon Hong; and Mok by Ayasamy Velu.