The Palace of Justice building, which houses Malaysia’s Court of Appeal and Federal Court, in Putrajaya

MALAYSIA: DEATH SENTENCE OF CAMBODIAN MAN COMMUTED TO 60 YEARS IN PRISON FOR CAUSING DEATH

March 19, 2024:

A Cambodian man, who was convicted of murdering two boys and two women, breathed a sigh of relief on March 12, 2024 after his death sentence was commuted to 60 years imprisonment by the Court of Appeal in Putrajaya.
A panel of three judges led by Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail handed down the prison sentence on Usuf Matli, 39, after deputy public prosecutor Mohd Fairuz Johari informed the court that the Attorney General’s Chamber (AGC) had accepted the man’s representation for his murder conviction be changed to causing death.
“The conviction and sentence under Section 302 of the Penal Code (for murder) by the (Shah Alam) High Court is set aside and replaced with a 15-year prison sentence for each of the four charges under Section 304(a).
“Therefore, the appellant (Usuf) will serve a 60-year imprisonment because the (15-year) sentence is to run consecutively from the date of his arrest on Sept 7, 2015“, said Judge Hadhariah, sitting with judges Datuk Azman Abdullah and Datuk Azmi Ariffin.
According to the four charges, Usuf was alleged to have caused the death of two boys, Rahimi Yusof and Asnawi Ahmad, and two women, Fatimas Aly and Salamah Yusof, in a palm oil plantation in Kampung Sijangkang, Telok Panglima Garang Kuala Langat, Selangor between 1 am and 7.25 pm on Sept 6, 2015.
Earlier, Usuf pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code, which provides a maximum prison sentence of 30 years and is liable to a fine, for causing the death of the two boys and two women.
On Aug 8, 2023, the Shah Alam High Court sentenced Usuf to death after finding him guilty of killing the four Cambodians.
Lawyer Salim Bashir, representing Usuf, requested that his client be sentenced to concurrent prison terms starting from the date of his arrest.
The prosecution requested that the appellant be sentenced to 18 years in prison for each charge as four lives were lost and the victims were brutally killed.