The sentence comes after the court heard that the deceased, a 24-year-old private security guard of the national referral hospital, died from severe head injuries suffered at the hands of the convict.
In the judgment passed yesterday that convicted him of voluntary manslaughter, the Thimphu District Court has also asked the convict, a 22-year-old man, to pay a compensation of Nu 492,000 to the relatives of the deceased.
The compensation has to be paid within ten days from the day of the judgment. Failure to do so will result in additional prison terms.
The case dates back to February this year. According to the judgment, the deceased sustained severe head injuries- from which he died later – after the convict punched him on the neck, causing him to fall down on to the cement floor.
The convict is a former laundry staff member with the national referral hospital. After his arrest following the incident, the convict had told police that he used to visit the hospital regularly even though he wasn’t working there anymore. He even admitted that sometimes he would spend nights in the hospital’s storerooms.
On the night of the incident, the deceased saw him in a storeroom and asked him to leave. That’s when he followed the security guard and attacked him.
