Cop gets five years for death of Aminulrasyid

SHAH ALAM, Sept 15 — Police Corporal Jenain Subi has been sentenced to five years’ jail by the Sessions Court here for causing the death of schoolboy Aminulrasyid Amzah in April last year at the conclusion of a high-profile trial that brought into sharp focus police rules of engagement.
Jenain, 48, was found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder after judge Latifah Mohd Tahar ruled that the use of lethal force to stop Aminulrasyid’s car was excessive and uncalled for.

“The court finds that the situation on Jalan Tarian wasn’t dangerous to anyone, including the accused, and that it was not necessary for the accused to discharge his weapon, let alone fire 21 shots... from his submachinegun,” Latifah said in her judgment today.

The judge said she had tried to balance public interest and the fact that Jenain had been discharging his duty as a policeman the night of the incident before sentencing the corporal to five years in jail.

Under section 304(a) of the Penal Code, the charge for culpable homicide not amounting to murder carries a maximum penalty of up to 30 years’ imprisonment and a fine.

Latifah allowed the jail term to be stayed pending appeal, while the prosecution has said it will cross-appeal the sentence.

Jenain, wearing a brown checked shirt, beige jacket and white skullcap, stood calmly as the sentence was read out.

The verdict caps an 11-month trial into the killing of Aminulrasyid, whose midnight joyride on April 26, 2010 turned tragic when he was gunned down by police in a burst of automatic gunfire, just minutes from his home.

The 14-year-old died from a shot to the head between 1.10am and 2am at Jalan Tarian 11/2, Seksyen 11 here after police fired on his car following a high-speed car chase through Shah Alam.
Jenain had admitted to firing 21 bullets from his HK MP5 submachinegun at Aminulrasyid’s Proton Iswara in an effort to stop the car — which had earlier run a roadblock — but denied trying to kill the teenager.

A second policeman involved in the chase, Constable Izham Mahayuddin, had also fired his MP5 at the car but was not charged.

Aminulrasyid’s death triggered public outcry over alleged police brutality, prompting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to pledge that investigations would be carried out openly and transparently