BATU PAHAT – The magistrates court today scheduled May 20 for the remention of the case involving a man accused of murdering his girlfriend, Mila Sharmilah Samsusah, also known as Bella, for the purpose of transferring it to the high court.
Magistrate Suhaila Shafi’uddin set the date after deputy public prosecutor Farah Wahidah Mohd Sharip informed the court that the prosecution is awaiting further instructions from the Johor State Prosecution Office due to new developments from the police.
During the proceedings, lawyer Syahril Anuar Harun, representing the accused, Mohammad Haikal Mahfuz, 25, requested a date approximately two weeks earlier due to two previous postponements in March and April.
On January 24, Haikal was charged with the murder of Mila Sharmilah, 32, between 11pm on December 14 and 5.30am on December 15, 2023, at various locations, including Jalan Kelapa Bali, Taman Soga, Jalan Parit Besar, Kg Parit Besar, and an abandoned house in Lorong Imam Jailani, Jalan Besar, Tongkang Pechah here.
He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries a death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years, and if the death sentence is not imposed, he is liable to a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane upon conviction.
Earlier, media outlets reported that Bella, a single mother of two, could not be reached after allegedly leaving her residence in her boyfriend’s car to the laundromat at 11.50pm on December 14 last year.
On January 19, one of the primary suspects in Bella’s disappearance led police to find partial human remains in an abandoned residence on Lorong Imam Jailani. – May 6, 2024