Bold claim: A former IT consultant who caused a bank manager’s death in a road rage incident six years ago has had his sentence trimmed from 16 years to 12 after the Federal Court accepted his appeal on sentencing.
A three-judge panel led by Justice Noordin Hassan determined that the initial prison term handed down by the High Court and later upheld by the Court of Appeal was excessive.
“We consider the sentence to be somewhat high,” Justice Noordin stated, flanked by Justices Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera and Lee Swee Seng. Yew Wei Liang, 47, sobbed in the dock as his relatives looked on with relief at the court’s decision.
Lawyer N Sivananthan told reporters that, with a one-third reduction for good behavior, Yew could be released in 2027.
The panel had previously rejected Yew’s bid to be convicted of a lesser charge—causing death without intent—and declined the prosecution’s cross-appeal seeking a murder verdict that would allow a death penalty or a maximum 40-year prison term plus a minimum 12 strokes of the rotan.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ng Siew Wee represented the prosecution.
Yew faced murder charges after repeatedly colliding with 29-year-old Syed Danial Syed Syakir on the North-South Expressway near Bandar Baru Bangi on 10 August 2019, an incident that left Syed Danial dead at the scene.
On 7 December 2023, Justice Julia Ibrahim found him guilty of the lesser charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and sentenced him to 16 years’ imprisonment, backdated to his arrest on 10 August 2019.
The Court of Appeal dismissed Yew’s appeal against conviction and sentence in March of this year.
