A specialized criminal court in the West Kazakhstan Region on September 29 handed down a verdict to a 26-year-old man accused of murdering his brother, infohub.kz reports.

The defendant was found guilty under Article 99 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, "Murder," and sentenced to 12 years in a medium-security penal institution. In addition, the convicted man was ordered to undergo compulsory treatment for psychotropic substance and alcohol addiction, and must pay the victim's family 12 million tenge in moral damages.

The tragedy occurred on the night of May 19 this year in Zhanibek District during a joint drinking session. An argument broke out between the defendant and his 18-year-old relative. According to the prosecution, the man grabbed a kitchen knife from the table and inflicted at least 15 wounds on the victim: two to the neck, one to the face, and 12 more to the chest and abdomen. He also punched and elbowed the victim in the head, jaw, and ribs.

The young man died at the scene from his injuries. To cover up the crime, the defendant carried the body behind the house and buried it in a garbage pit.

The cynicism of the crime lies in the fact that after the murder, the convicted man went to sleep, woke up in the morning, and continued living as if nothing had happened. Moreover, he joined relatives in searching for the murdered man and posted missing-person notices on social media. The crime was solved thanks to witnesses who pointed out that the victim had been with the defendant on the night of the murder.

The mother of the murdered man said she considers the sentence too lenient.

"He brutally killed my son. Beibarys was only 18 years old. He deserved a harsher punishment, at least 20 years in prison. He not only killed my son but also hid the body, and then came to us and sat at the same table with us. We searched for my son for 8 days. By that time, the body had begun to decompose. We couldn't even say a proper goodbye to him," the woman said.

The sentence has not entered into legal force and may be appealed.