KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A tow truck driver was sentenced to death by a High Court on Friday for murdering Arab-Malaysian Development Bank founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi last year.

High Court judge Justice Mohd Azman Husin also sentenced Koong Swee Kwan to 18 years' jail for attempting to murder the founder's wife Cheong Mei Kuen.

The judge meted out the sentences after the defence failed to raise reasonable doubt in Koong's case.

"I find that the defence was a mere denial and that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

"I find you guilty and convict you of the two charges," the judge said when delivering his verdict.

Koong, 45, committed the offences at Kuan Yin temple in Jalan Ceylon on July 29 last year. Hussain, 75, was gunned down while his 49-year-old wife was also injured in the attack.

The couple had gone to the temple to discuss a property deal.