Malaysian Man Avoided Jail For 33 Years Because His Name Was Misspelled
Arumugam had no idea that he was wanted for killing the victim, who was alive when he last saw him.
By Selena Chua — 16 Jul 2019, 06:45 PM
A Malaysian man was sentenced to eight and a half years' jail on Monday, 15 July after pleading guilty to causing the death of a man 33 years ago
On 28 August 1986, while working in Singapore, Arumugam Veerasamy went to meet his former employer Mr Mutiah to discuss his unpaid wages amounting to SGD1,000 (approximately RM3,027)
According to MS News, Mr Mutiah explained that he was unable to pay Arumugam because he himself was not paid by his boss.
After drinking several bottles of beer, the men began fighting and fell to the ground with Arumugam crouched on top of the victim.
Arumugam subsequently picked up a nearby hammer and repeatedly struck the victim on his head and chest
Mr Muthiah was groaning in pain when Arumugam left the scene. He later crossed the Causeway back to Johor Bahru, reported The New Paper.
According to CNA, one of Mr Muthiah's workers found him lying motionless in the hut later that night and called the police.
Police subsequently issued a warrant for Arumugam's arrest based on the name on his work permit. However, it was impossible to locate Arumugam because his name was misspelt.
Arumugam was linked to the crime only after fingerprint technology was introduced at Singapore’s border checkpoints in 2006
In 2016, he was finally caught when he tried to enter Singapore through the Woodlands checkpoint.
According to his defence counsel Siraj Shaik Aziz, who took the case on a pro-bono basis, Arumugam had no idea that he was wanted for killing the victim, who was alive when he last saw him.
Mr Siraj also said that his client had returned to Singapore multiple times and was not aware he was wanted for homicide, Channel News Asia(CNA) reported.
