The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has appealed against the Thimphu District Court’s judgment passed last month concerning the death of 24-year-old Namgay Dolkar. The OAG has appealed to the High Court, charging 39-year-old Sonam Norbu with murder. The OAG appealed to the High Court today. The Thimphu District Court found Sonam Norbu guilty of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced him to nearly 15 years in prison.
According to the OAG, the facts of the case, the conduct of the convict, and circumstantial evidence indicate the presence of “premeditated malice”.
Premeditated malice is the intentional planning and execution of a killing.
According to the Penal Code of Bhutan, a defendant shall be guilty of murder if they knowingly and deliberately commit a homicide with premeditated malice. The offence of murder is a first-degree felony with a prison term ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment.
During the trial at the Thimphu District Court, the OAG also charged Sonam Norbu with murder. However, the court convicted him of voluntary manslaughter, a second-degree felony, citing insufficient evidence to prove murder.
The Thimphu District Court based its judgment on circumstantial evidence, including motive, events leading to the incident, post-incident behaviour and forensic findings, and imposed the maximum sentence for voluntary manslaughter: 14 years, 11 months, and 29 days of imprisonment.
In August 2023, the body of late Namgay Dolkar was found 500 metres downstream of Khariphu Bridge in Thimphu, a day after she was reported missing. Police arrested Sonam Norbu after he was found as the last person the deceased contacted leading up to the district court’s trial.
Tashi Dekar
Edited by Kipchu
