The appellate court in the Mangystau region has reviewed the verdict of the former deputy prosecutor of the Munaily district.
The first-instance court found the defendant guilty under Article 104, Part 1 of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months of restriction of liberty based on the amended accusation by the prosecutor.
After reviewing the case, the appellate court established that the defendant was brought to trial under Article 106, Part 3 of the Criminal Code ("Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in the death of the victim due to negligence"). The state prosecutor in court changed the accusation to a less severe article - Article 104, Part 1 of the Criminal Code ("Causing death by negligence").
According to the Criminal Procedure Code, if the prosecutor changes the accusation and the victim does not insist on the previous accusation, the court considers the case based on the new accusation. However, it was noted by the Mangystau Regional Court that the victim's position regarding the change of accusation was not clarified by the court. During the court debates, the victim disagreed with the prosecutor regarding the proposed punishment.
Furthermore, the prosecutor failed to provide a new motivated formulation of the accusation in writing, as required by law.
The circumstances of the case revealed that during the conflict, the defendant T. kicked the victim M. in the thigh and punched him in the head. As a result, the victim fell and, without regaining consciousness, died from the injuries. T.'s guilt was confirmed by witness testimonies and the conclusion of the forensic medical examination. Based on this, the criminal collegium of the Mangystau Regional Court overturned the verdict of the first-instance court and issued a new accusatory verdict. T. was found guilty under Part 3 of Article 106 of the Criminal Code ("Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in the death of the victim due to negligence") and was sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment.
Earlier, there was a wave of outrage on social media due to the initial lenient verdict. Reports indicated that the defendant - a former deputy prosecutor - assaulted the deputy head of the Revenue Service of the city of Aktau in a cafe, resulting in the latter's death.
In a separate incident in the Kostanay region, a verdict was announced for the organizer of a foam party where a child died: four years of conditional sentence.
