Nigerian man sentenced to d3ath in Malaysia for m8rder of his 4-year-old step-grandson

A Nigerian man has been sentenced to d3ath after being convicted of m8rdering his four-year-old step-grandson in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. LIB reported that Ibekwe Emeka Augustine threw the child from the third floor of an apartment building on Sunday, November 29, 2020 after he failed to rape his stepdaughter, who is the victim’s mother. Read other reports HERE and HERE  High Court judge K. Muniandy sentenced Ibekwe, 48, to d3ath on Friday, January 9, 2025 after finding him guilty of m8rder, ruling that the prosecution had proven the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. “You are sentenced to death by hanging until you are d3ad. However, you have the right to appeal against the sentence at the Court of Appeal,” the judge said. Moments before the sentence was passed, Augustine, handcuffed and dressed in a white T-shirt and black trousers, pleaded for leniency. “I regret everything that happened, and it will not happen again. I remember going swimming and playing football with him. Please have mercy on me. Everything is in your hands,” he said. Augustine appeared solemn as he was led out of the courtroom. An interpreter was present throughout the proceedings. He was charged in 2020 with m8rdering the boy between 7.45am and 8.15am at an apartment unit in Setapak on Nov 29, 2020, which carries the d3ath penalty or a jail term between 30 and 40 years upon conviction. In addition to the m8rder conviction, Augustine was sentenced to one year for one count of attempted suicide, five years for s3xually assaulting his then 25-year-old stepdaughter, five years for attempted m8rder of his son, then aged 7; and 14 years for causing grievous hurt to his wife, then 48, who suffered a broken hip. Muniandy ordered that all jail sentences run concurrently, which is 14-years, from Augustine’s arrest on Nov 29, 2020. “All these inhumane and despicable acts of the accused could have been stopped as the accused’s wife attempted to do so, but the accused persisted even after grievously injuring her. “The victims were all traumatised by the entire incident and had to run away from the home before anything more dreadful was inflicted on them. “Then they found the grandchild dead on the ground as he was thrown away mercilessly by the accused, who then attempted suicide. “Such conduct cannot be excused on the grounds of self-intoxication with drugs or his attempt to end his own life,” he said. In mitigation, defence counsel Zulkifli Awang argued that his client should be spared the death penalty, saying the murder was not premeditated and that his client was not a hardened criminal incapable of rehabilitation. “The facts show that his actions were due to schizophrenia and that he was of unsound mind, although the court had ruled that self-intoxication is not a defence. “But I want to stress that what occurred was due to his insanity, due to drug consumption. “He has been in remand since his arrest, and he is repentant. Imprisonment would be a more appropriate sentence. It is not necessary to take another life,” he said. Deputy public prosecutor Zaileen Nadia Zubir urged the court to impose the death penalty, stating that Augustine had admitted to committing the acts due to prolonged consumption of drugs and not schizophrenia. “He dangled the child by the leg outside the window before throwing him out, an act witnessed by the boy’s mother. “He had admitted that it happened because of drugs and not because of schizophrenia, and he heard voices. “He knew his actions were wrong and apologised,” she said. The trial began in January 2024 and concluded in December the same year, with testimony from 22 prosecution witnesses and two defence witnesses, who were Augustine himself and consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony. After the proceedings, Zulkifli said a notice of appeal against the d3ath sentence would be filed.   The post Nigerian man sentenced to d3ath in Malaysia for m8rder of his 4-year-old step-grandson appeared first on Linda Ikeji Blog.