3-week delay in mention of case of Malaysian father, Singaporean son charged over robber's death

The Malaysian father and his Singaporean son accused of causing the death of an alleged robber in Negeri Sembilan will have to wait another three weeks for the mention of their case after the prosecution failed to deliver case documents in time for Thursday.

Moo He Hong, 57, and Moo Wee Keong, 29, were detained for 23 days after Chinese New Year after being charged with the murder of Mr Chan Boon Poh. Their case was later amended to death by negligence, thereby allowing them to be released on bail last month.

"The prosecution must serve on us all documents which they propose to use at the trial, before the trial. This includes police reports, medical reports, photos etc," Mr Gobind Singh Deo, lawyer for the father and son, told The Straits Times on Thursday.

The mention will now be on May 20 at the Gemas magistrate.

If found guilty, Moo and his son will face up to two years' jail and a possible fine.

Bail for Moo, a part-time cook, and his son, a Singtel sales representative, was set at RM8,500 (S$3,196) each on March 18 by the magistrate in Rembau after the duo pleaded not guilty.

The younger Moo, whose Singaporean mother Kuek Soo Lan, 52, was allegedly slashed with a parang by Mr Chan, had insisted that he and his father only wanted to snatch the knife away, but admitted beating the man.

The incident happened in the wee hours of Feb 24 when the family was visiting their relatives in Negeri Sembilan over the Chinese New Year period.

Madam Kuek, a promoter in Singapore at supermarket chain Giant, told the media that a masked man rushed out from the shadows and attempted to grab her bag. Her husband and son managed to pin down the man.

Her husband then drove her to a nearby clinic for treatment without waiting for the police to arrive. He returned 15 minutes later to the house to discover that Mr Chan had died.

Madam Kuek was told by the police that Mr Chan had died from "chest injuries probably caused by multiple blows to the area".

shannont@sph.com.sg

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