Datuk's son acquited, rape-murder victim's father attempts suicide at court

The father of a rape and murder victim caused a stir when he threatened to jump off the balcony of the double-storey state court complex here yesterday after the High Court found a car dealer not guilty of the murder of his daughter seven years ago.

Chee Ah Sau, 57, broke down in tears and appeared distraught after judicial commissioner Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab acquitted and discharged Shahril Jaafar, 32, from the charge of murdering Chee's daughter, Gaik Yap, then 25.

Almost immediately after Zaki delivered his decision, Ah Sau barged out of High Court 4, located on the second floor.

He then climbed up a long chair in front of High Court 3 before attempting to jump off the balcony.

Several onlookers and relatives, along with reporters and photographers, and policemen, rushed towards Chee and pulled him to safety.

Family members later spent about 20 minutes trying to coax Chee, who was crying incessantly. A few minutes later, he was seen escorted by several family members to a car before leaving the court complex.

Earlier, Zaki ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against the accused.

He said the court found that the victim, who was a snack food marketing executive, succumbed to stab wounds on the left side of the neck and not because of internal injuries on the private parts.

"The prosecution failed to prove Shahril had caused the injuries which caused her death."

Semen samples taken from the victim's private parts also did not match Shahril's DNA, which raised the possibility that another person could be responsible for the injuries.

Zaki also noted that the prosecution, represented by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Razali Che Ani, had relied solely on the fact that the accused was living at Kelab Cinta Sayang, near the murder scene.

Shahril was charged with murdering Gaik Yap between 5.30pm on Jan 14 and 3.05am on Jan 15, 2006.

Chee, a business administration graduate from Universiti Utara Malaysia, had been jogging with her younger sister in Kelab Cinta Sayang when she was abducted.

Her semi-nude body was found nine hours later in a bush near the jogging track. At that time, she was only four months into her job.

It was reported earlier this year that Shahril, who had been on the run since 2006, was detained at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, upon his return from Perth, Australia, in January.

Shahril, who was represented by Shamsul Sulaiman, left the court complex after the verdict was read.