Jabing Kho to be executed after failing in bid to commute death sentence
SINGAPORE — Five months after he was granted a temporary stay of execution a day before he was to be hanged, Sarawakian Jabing Kho on Tuesday (April 5) failed in his bid to commute his death sentence.
The five-judge Court of Appeal unanimously denied his review, and Kho, 31, will be executed when President Tony Tan decides on a date. Kho, 31, had been convicted of murder and given the death penalty, following an attack in 2008 on a construction worker that resulted in the latter’s death.
On Nov 5 last year, Kho’s lawyer Chandra Mohan K Nair filed a criminal motion at the eleventh hour to reduce his sentence, raising points about how evidence was not delved into during the trial. The Court of Appeal granted him a stay of execution to give Mr Mohan – then newly appointed – more time to prepare his case.
On Feb 17, 2008, Kho and fellow Sarawakian Galing Anak Kujat had attacked construction worker Cao Ruyin and his Chinese compatriot Wu Jun near Geylang Drive while trying to rob them. Kho struck Cao’s head with a tree branch so hard that his accomplice saw the victim’s head crack open. Cao suffered 14 skull fractures and died six days later.
In 2010, Kho and Galing received the mandatory death sentence. But on appeal the following year, Galing was convicted of robbery with hurt and sentenced to 18 years and six months’ jail with 19 strokes of the cane. Kho failed in his appeal.
In 2013, when amendments to the law giving judges sentencing discretion in some murder cases kicked in, Kho was re-sentenced to life imprisonment and 24 strokes of the cane. However, the prosecution challenged the decision on the argument that Kho had shown “scant regard for human life”. The Court of Appeal then overturned the previous sentence last January, sentencing Kho to death again in a 3-2 split decision.
The judges agreed that the punishment of death would be appropriate when the offender had committed murder in a manner that clearly demonstrated a blatant disregard for the sanctity of human life.
In Kho’s case, the majority — comprising Judges of Appeal Chao Hick Tin and Andrew Phang as well as Justice Chan Seng Onn — concluded that the “sheer savagery and brutality displayed by (Kho) shows that during the course of the attack, (he) just simply could not care less as to whether the deceased would survive although his intention at the time was only to rob”.
Kho’s appeal for clemency was turned down by President Tony Tan last October, on the Cabinet’s advice.
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore...death-sentence
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