Woman Charged with Murder of UiTM Students After No Evidence of Mental Health Issues Found
A 49-year-old mother of three has been charged with the murder of three Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) students near the Dungun campus in Terengganu on Wednesday, 9 October.
According to the New Straits Times, police stated that sufficient criminal elements were found to charge Norizan Ismail with murder after she crashed her SUV into the students on Jalan Pantai. Initially, the case was investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for reckless driving but was later reclassified to Section 307(1) of the Penal Code for attempted murder, based on directives from the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).
"The suspect may have been aware of the collision and did not stop her vehicle despite dragging the victims for over 100 meters. The AGC concluded that based on these factors, the suspect should be charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code (murder)," said Terengganu police chief Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairuddin, as reported by Berita Harian.
Additionally, no medical records indicated that the suspect had any mental health issues.
Norizan was formally charged at the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court on 15 October. The court ordered her to undergo psychiatric evaluation at Johor Bahru's Permai Hospital.
The victims of the incident were identified as Ku Adib Aizab Ku Azmi, 20, Khairul Anwar Jamaluddin, 20, and Muhammad Akmal Md Tukirin, 25. Norizan was driving a Honda CR-V when she collided with two motorcycles carrying four students in front of the UiTM Dungun campus around 7:35 pm. The fourth student, Mohd Ammar Danish Mohd Rodhuan, 20, survived and was taken to Dungun Hospital.