A three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by justice Kamaludin Md Said imposed the jail term after hearing submissions on mitigating and aggravating factors from counsels.

Kamaludin, who sat with justices Nordin Hassan and Hashim Hamzah, also ordered the jail term of S Rajendran, 52, to begin from April 17, 2018, the day police arrested him.

Rajendran was initially charged with the murder of P Ramunaidu, a Malaysian, at a house in Kampung Simpang Awah in Maran, Pahang at about 11pm on April 6, 2018.

The two were working at the Felda Pekan Awah oil palm plantation.

Last year, High Court justice Hassan Abdul Ghani found Rajendran guilty and sentenced him to death.

He appealed to the Court of Appeal but later his counsel Baljit Sidhu made a representation to the Attorney-General’s Chambers which was accepted.

Deputy public prosecutor K Mangai confirmed the matter.

The murder charge was then amended to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, to which Rajendran pleaded guilty.

Mangai proposed a jail term of between 15 years and 18 years.

Baljit said the sentencing trend for the amended charge under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code is between 12 years and 20 years.

“Public interest would also be best served if the appellant could be given an opportunity to turn over a new leaf. He has also served four years and five months in jail since the date of his arrest,” he said.

He said the deceased, who was the aggressor, provoked the appellant by using offensive words.

The facts of the case stated Ramunaidu had grabbed a metal bar and hit Rajendran on his head and chest.

Rajendran then fought back and repeatedly slashed Ramunaidu with a parang before fleeing from the scene.