You Poh Khoon was charged with murdering and dismembering his 74-year-old father in 2018 in a house in Ipoh, Perak. PHOTO: BERNAMA via The Straits Times/Asia News Network
An unemployed Malaysian man, who claimed to be insane when he beheaded his father and cut the body into six parts five years ago, has failed to set aside his death sentence.
A three-member Court of Appeal bench, chaired by Justice Kamaludin Said, was unconvinced by 57-year-old You Poh Khoon’s defense on the grounds of insanity.
“The defense was unable to rebut the expert evidence of the prosecution witness on the appellant’s mental health at the time the incident took place,” Justice Kamaludin said on Monday when dismissing the appeal.
The man was charged with murdering his 74-year-old father, Mr You Su Kim, between Oct 8 and Oct 9 in 2018 in a house in Ipoh, Perak.
According to media reports, neighbors reported hearing father and son arguing the night before the murder, believed to be over the use of drugs by the younger You.
Police said You was believed to be under the influence of drugs when he severed the elderly man’s head and cut the body into six parts.
The incident came to light when You’s sister noticed blood on a mattress, a pillow and the walls of You’s house, reported the New Straits Times.
The police were called, and they found the remains in a 1.5m-deep underground sewage tank and a hole that was dug up behind the house.
The police also recovered a long machete from the scene of the crime.
On May 24, 2022, the Ipoh High Court sentenced You to death by hanging after he was found guilty of killing his father.
He subsequently appealed against the court’s conviction.
The Court of Appeal’s ruling on Monday is not the end of the road for You, he can file a final appeal to the Federal Court.