18 July 2024 :

Two former security officials on July 16, 2024 were sentenced to death in Somalia for murder of a student.
The military court sitting in Mogadishu sentenced to death Mohamed Raage aka Qatatow and former National Security Intelligence Agency (NISA) officer Abdi Ahmed Addow for shooting dead 18 year old student identified as Abdullahi Abdi Isaac.
The court also sentenced a former NISA constable Farhan Aden Ilmi to three years for aiding in the murder of the first year student.
According to the prosecution, the convicts shot the student dead while he was travelling on a tuk tuk in Daynille area of Mogadishu in April this year.

28 May 2024 :

Four Johoreans have been given the death penalty in Malaysia after they were found guilty of trafficking 34, 282.3 grams of drugs while travelling into Sandakan in 2020, The Star reported on May 9, 2024.
High Court Judge Datuk Celestine Stuel Galid delivered the verdict following the conviction of Chu Shan Yuen, 22, Liew Zheng Da, 24, Fong Wei Hong, 26 and Meng De Xuan, 23, under Section 39B Dangerous Drug Act 1952.
The judge handed the sentence after listening to mitigation from both sides.
"After hearing submissions from both parties, the court noted the substantial quantity of drugs, the severity of the offence, and taking into account public interest in combating drug trafficking,” she said.
According to the charge, the RM2.08mil worth of drugs were found by the Customs that were separately concealed in each of their luggage upon arrival at the Sandakan airport on June 23, 2020.
They had arrived on a commercial flight from Kuala Lumpur.
At the time of their arrest, Chu, aged 18 then, possessed 8.6899 grams of drugs; Liew, aged 20, carried 8.158 grams; Fong, aged 22, had 8.5237 grams, while Meng, aged 19, was found with 8.9116 grams.
Royal Customs Department deputy prosecutor Nabilla Najjeeha Najmuddin prosecuted while the four were represented by lawyer Dominic Chew.

20 March 2024 :

A mechanic was sentenced to death by the Tawau High Court on March 8, 2024 for trafficking nearly 200kg of syabu - the first case in Tawau after the passing of the Mandatory Death Penalty Abolition Act 2023, which came into effect on July 4, last year.
Tai Chee Kiong, 51, who is the father of a son, was seen wiping his eyes with his hand after the sentence was handed down by Judge Datuk Dr. Lim Hock Leng.
In his judgement, Dr. Lim said the sentence was imposed because, although the case was Tai’s first offence, it involved the largest amount of drugs in the State ever tried in court, which was 199,950.1gm.
He said the Tawau High Court had convicted drug offenders involving 35kg, 12kg, 10kg, seven kg and four kg in the last three years, but the quantity was still not equal to the total weight of drugs brought by Tai.
“The accused also did not show remorse for his actions and was not even mentioned in the defence’s argument,” Dr Lim said, who also took public interest into account in his decision.
When the judge gave him the opportunity to speak before being sentenced, Tai chose not to say anything.Tai is accused of trafficking 199,950.1gm of syabu in the Kg Batu Payung area around 7.30 p.m. on Sept 6, 2021.Tai is charged under Section 39B (1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which is punishable under Section 39B(2) of the same Act, which carries the death penalty, life imprisonment, and caning not less than 15 times, upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Hurman Hussain said although the decision of whether the accused is sentenced to death by hanging or life imprisonment (30 years) and a minimum of 12 lashes is at the discretion of the court.
He applied that Tai be sentenced to death by hanging, taking into account the amount of drugs and public interest factor.
The prosecution was conducted with DPP Mohd Suhaimi Suriana while Tai was represented by Darmin Acok.
The trial of the case took place on Nov 27 and 28, last year with five prosecution witnesses being called to testify while the defence took place on Dec 5 and 6.
The prosecution’s first witness, State Chemistry Department Analyst, Billing Peter Raig, told the court during last year’s trial proceedings that the drug was the largest sample analysed in the State and the largest number of positive samples after analysis from a seizure.

07 November 2024 :

Eighteen people were sentenced to death in Malaysia between Jan 1 and Oct 14 this year.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman said, in a written Parliamentary reply, 866 people had their death sentences commuted to jail terms.
Of that number, 52 people had their sentences commuted at the appeal stage.
She was responding to a question from Ramkarpal Singh (PH- Bukit Gelugor) on the number of people sentenced to death this year and the number of sentences commuted in the same period.
Azalina said the other 814 people who had their sentences commuted applied for a review under the Review of Death Penalty and Life Imprisonment Act (Federal Court Temporary Jurisdiction) which came into force on Sept 12, 2023.
Azalina noted that 18 individuals received new death sentences — 12 from the High Court and six from the Court of Appeal.

23 October 2024 :

Malaysia’s Federal Court has commuted the death sentences of two former factory workers to 34 years in prison, along with 12 strokes of the cane each, for the murder of an acquaintance 13 years ago.
The prison sentences imposed on V. Veeran, 41, and MS Sasitharan, 32, start from the date of their arrests on June 23, 2014 and June 25, 2014 respectively.
The five-member bench, led by Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Justice Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Sebli, along with Federal Court judges Justices Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, Datuk Nordin Hassan, Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Datuk Hanipah Farikullah, allowed the duo’s review applications on October 16, 2024.
The court set aside the death sentences on both accused and replaced them with life imprisonment.
The review applications were filed by the two men following the enactment of the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 which came into effect on July 4 last year.
Veeran and Sasitharan were convicted and ordered to be sent to the gallows by the High Court in 2016, for the murder of 24-year-old S. Vijaindran.
The deceased was attacked on the five-foot way between two shops on Jalan Tasek SS/1 in Bandar Tasik Mutiara, Seberang Prai Selatan, Penang at 11pm on June 4, 2011.
Their appeals were subsequently dismissed by the Court of Appeal in 2017, and by the Federal Court in 2019.
Lawyers T. Vijayandran, representing Veeran, and Abdul Rashid Ismail, representing Sasitharan, appealed to the court to commute the death sentence to a term of imprisonment.
DPP Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi argued for the death sentences to be retained, pointing out the brutal nature of the murder.
Tetralina said that based on the facts of the case, the applicants had chased and attacked the deceased with a machete, inflicting a total of 22 wounds.

16 October 2024 :

The Federal Court in Putrajaya on August 7, 2024 commuted the death sentence of a former sawmill worker to 40 years in prison for killing and raping a nurse nine years ago.
A three-judge panel led by Justice Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal allowed Mohammad Awari Ahmad’s application to review his death sentence under the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023.
The judge also ordered Mohammad Awari, 31, to be given 12 strokes of the cane, and for his prison term to commence from the date of his arrest on March 1, 2015.
In delivering the court’s ruling, Justice Harmindar said although the circumstances of Mohammad Awari’s crime were quite exceptional, the one mitigating factor that saved him from the death penalty was his young age at the time of the offence.
Justice Harmindar, who presided along with Justices Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Datuk Hanipah Farikullah, ordered Mohammad Awari to serve his 40-year prison term concurrently with the custodial sentence imposed for the rape conviction.
Earlier in the proceedings, Mohammad Awari’s lawyer, Gurbachan Singh, acknowledged the gravity of the crime and the tragic loss of life but argued for the death sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment, emphasising that his client was just 22 years old at the time.
However, deputy public prosecutor Atiqah Abdul Karim @ Husaini objected to the application for review, stressing that it was a brutal murder of the young mother of three, who was also subjected to rape.
She said Mohammad Awari entered the house in the middle of the night while the victim was sleeping with her three children and her husband was not at home.
Atiqah said Mohammad Awari had slashed the victim’s neck, which was witnessed by her five-year-old son. She added that the victim was also robbed and violently raped.
Mohammad Awari was initially found guilty and sentenced to death by the Kota Bharu High Court in Kelantan on Jan 31, 2018, for killing the 25-year-old wife of an auxiliary policeman.
He was also convicted of raping the woman and sentenced to 18 years in jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
He was charged with murdering and raping the woman between 12.20 am and 2 am in a house in Kampung Batu Papan, Gua Musang, Kelantan, on March 1, 2015.
His appeals against both his conviction and death sentence were dismissed by the Court of Appeal on April 11, 2019, and by the Federal Court on Oct 7, 2020.

10 October 2024 :

Malaysia has commuted the death sentence of an ex-police guard of former premier Najib Razak, after the Southeast Asian country changed its law on capital punishment.
Azilah Hadri, one of two former security officials for Najib convicted for the 2006 murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian woman allegedly linked to Najib and one of his former advisers, will instead serve a sentence of 40 years and 12 strokes of the cane, Chief Justice Maimun Tuan Mat said in Federal Court in Putrajaya on October 10, 2024.
Malaysia abolished the mandatory death penalty last year while keeping capital punishment as an option for some offenses ranging from drug trafficking and terrorism to murder. After that, prisoners on death row were allowed to apply to have their sentences reviewed.
While Azilah has been imprisoned in Malaysia, the other convicted murderer, Sirul Azhar Umar, left the country for Australia, which won’t extradite him because Malaysia upholds the death penalty. Najib’s former adviser Abdul Razak Baginda was acquitted in 2008 of abetting the killing.
Altantuya, a linguist who spoke Russian and Chinese, had an affair with Razak, he has said. According to witnesses in the murder trial in 2007, she worked with him as a translator on Malaysia’s purchase of Scorpene-class submarines in France, which is now subject to investigation in both countries.
She died in Malaysia after being led to a secluded spot in a forest by the two convicted men. Police reports show she was shot and then blown up with explosives. While the two men were convicted of the crime, questions have swirled for years about the motive and who ordered the killing.
Azilah called for a retrial in 2019, penning a sworn statement saying that former Prime Minister Najib instructed him to covertly arrest and destroy her because she was a foreign spy and a threat to national security. Najib has denied involvement.
In a civil trial in 2022, a Malaysian court awarded Altantuya’s family 5 million ringgit ($1.2 million) in damages over her death. The suit, which was filed in 2017, named four defendants, Azilah, Sirul, Razak and the Malaysian government. Razak and the state are appealing.
In court on October 10, Azilah’s counsel read out a letter from Altantuya’s father supporting the commuting of the death sentence. The lawyer argued Azilah was only carrying out orders and wouldn’t be a threat to society if released after serving a life sentence. Azilah has already served more than 16 years in prison, his lawyer said. The 40-year sentence is from 2006, the chief justice later said.
The prosecutor contended that while these were mitigating factors, the gruesome manner of the murder meant it was in the public interest to uphold the death sentence.
Najib is currently in prison after being convicted of criminal breach of trust, abuse of power and money laundering in relation to 1MDB, the fund that became the center of a multibillion dollar scandal that spawned probes across continents. He had his sentence halved to six years earlier this year.

03 October 2024 :

The Putrajaya Court of Appeal on August 26, 2024 commuted the death sentence to 40 years in prison for a man who murdered his mother and dumped her body in a septic tank six years ago.
The three-judge panel, consisting of Court of Appeal judges Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Zaini Mazlan and High Court judge Noorin Badaruddin, also ordered Firdaus Ismail to receive 12 strokes of the cane.
In granting Firdaus’s appeal, Zaidi said the court had taken into account the submission by lawyer Hussaini Abdul Rashid for the prison term, and the fact that deputy public prosecutor Roshan Karthi Kayan did not seek to retain the death sentence.
After considering the facts of the case, the court finds the appeal has merit. The death sentence is therefore replaced with 40 years in prison, starting from Sept 25, 2018, the date of his arrest, and 12 strokes of the rotan, Zaidi said.
Hussaini informed the court earlier that Firdaus was withdrawing his appeal against conviction.
He said that when the High Court sentenced Firdaus to death in 2022, the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 had not yet been enforced.
Firdaus, 35, the youngest of five siblings, was convicted and sentenced to death by the High Court on April 15, 2022, for the murder of his mother, Faridah Mat Hashim, 63, at their house in Balik Pulau, Penang, on Sept 19, 2018.
It was reported that Faridah’s body was found inside a septic tank behind the house.

10 July 2024 :

A former scrap metal dealer’s death sentence for killing a transvestite 15 years ago has been commuted to 38 years in jail by the Federal Court, Bernama reported on July 4, 2024.
A three-judge panel comprising Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Federal Court judges Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais allowed V. Raja’s review application under the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023.
Justice Tengku Maimun ordered Raja's prison sentence to begin from the date of his arrest on May 23, 2010, and also imposed 12 strokes of caning.
Raja, 35, was found guilty by the High Court in 2012 for killing M. Kanan, 42, at a flood retention pond in Lorong Air Jernih, Setapak, Kuala Lumpur between 1am and 2am on Aug 24, 2009.
He failed in his appeals to overturn his conviction and death sentence at the Court of Appeal in 2013 and Federal Court in 2015.
Earlier, Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Zulkpli Abdullah urged the court to uphold the death sentence, citing the extremely brutal nature of the murder and its apparent lack of motive based on the facts of the case.
He said on the night of the murder, Raja and a group of his friends went in a van to the location of the deceased.
He said the deceased, who was a transvestite and worked as a prostitute, was forced to enter the van and have sexual intercourse with Raja, who later stabbed him with a knife.
Raja’s lawyer T. Vijayandran had earlier pleaded for the court to give his client a chance to have his death sentence commuted to life imprisonment.

08 July 2024 :

The Court of Appeal of Putrajaya on June 24, 2024 commuted the death sentence imposed on a 41-year-old man to 35 years in jail for murdering an Indonesian house cleaner in 2017 after she allegedly badmouthed him.
The three judge panel of led by Judge Datuk Supang Lian, along with Judges Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk S.M. Komathy Suppiah, dismissed Khairul Azizi Abdul Jalil’s appeal to overturn his conviction for the offence.
The court did allow the accused’s appeal to commute the death sentence imposed on him by the High Court to 35 years’ in jail to be served from the date of his arrest on October 9, 2017, but also imposed 12 strokes of the cane.
In the court’s decision, Justice Komathy said Khairul was not of unsound mind when the offence was commissioned and knew the nature of his conduct was against the law, and that it was in fact a premeditated murder.
His counsel Mohamad Asri Othman had asked the court to commute the death sentence to 30 years’ in jail but deputy public prosecutor Aznee Salmie Ahmad, who was assisted by DPP Aida Khairuleen Azli, urged the court to uphold the death sentence.
Khairul had been found guilty by the Ipoh High Court last year for killing Aidah Tursinawati, who was in her 40s, at a house in Kampung Tersusun Tasek, Ipoh, Kinta district, Perak at 3.25pm on October 9, 2017.
High Court judge Su Tiang Joo had ruled that Khairul Azizi had failed to prove that he was of unsound mind and incapable of knowing the nature of his act at the time of killing Aidah.

30 May 2024 :

Malaysia's top court commuted the death sentence imposed on a Japanese woman for drug trafficking to 30 years in prison on May 29, 2024, following a judicial reform that eliminated mandatory capital punishment for illicit drug trade and several other serious offenses.
In a unanimous decision, a panel of three judges at the Federal Court replaced the death sentence handed to Mariko Takeuchi, 50, with imprisonment of 30 years from the date of her arrest in 2009, after reviewing an appeal for a lesser punishment.
Takeuchi lost her appeal in 2015, with the court upholding lower court rulings in which the former nurse was sentenced to hang for trafficking 3.5 kilograms of methamphetamine into Malaysia in 2009.
She filed an appeal for a lesser punishment after a law allowing prisoners sentenced to death or life imprisonment to seek a reduced sentence took effect last September. The law was part of the judicial reform that abolished mandatory death or life sentence for 11 offenses, including drug trafficking, murder and terrorism.
Takeuchi testified at her trial that she did not know about the drugs found in a suitcase she brought to Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Dubai. She pleaded innocent, maintaining that she was carrying the suitcase as a favor for an Iranian acquaintance.
Takeuchi, who hails from Aomori Prefecture, was the first Japanese tried for drug trafficking in Malaysia and the first sentenced to death.
Her lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik told reporters outside the courtroom that Takeuchi could be freed by 2029 as prison rules allow one-third remission to a jail term for good behavior.
Prior to the law taking effect, there were 1,020 convicts on death row or serving life sentences, according to government data. Most of the convicts requested a review of their sentences after the enforcement of the law and had their death penalty reduced to jail term.

27 May 2024 :

The Federal Court on May 20, 2024 commuted the death sentence of a woman who murdered her close friend by stabbing her seven times to 33 years in jail.
A three-member panel of judges, chaired by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, made the ruling after allowing the application filed by 46-year-old Ooi Ai Peng, for a review of the death sentence.
"The court set aside the death sentence, and replaced it with a prison sentence of 33 years, starting from the date of arrest on March 13, 2010,” said Judge Tengku Maimun, who presided together with Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court Judge Datuk Nordin Hassan.
Earlier, lawyer T. Jayaraj, who represented Ooi, asked the court to allow a review application to set aside the death sentence and said that his client had been in prison for 14 years.
Deputy public prosecutor Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi objected but said if the court allowed the application, the prosecution proposed a jail sentence of at least 33 years.
Earlier, before sentencing, Judge Nordin asked if the applicant (Ooi) was male.
The prosecution answered, "female".
Ooi was found guilty by the Alor Setar High Court, in 2011, for killing Suhana Mohd Sharif, 26, outside premises numbered 167, Taman Kristal Mergong, Alor Setar, at 9.30pm on March 3, 2010, and she was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
In that incident, there was an argument between the two women, who were also colleagues at a stationery store, believed to have stemmed from a disagreement.
Suhana was stabbed seven times, before being confirmed dead at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital, at 11.35pm on the same day (March 3), while Ooi stabbed herself and cut her wrists.

22 May 2024 :

A 54-year-old man was spared the gallows on May 13, 2024 after the Federal Court commuted his death sentence for the 2013 murders of his wife and two children in Sibu to 40 years in prison.
A three-member panel made the unanimous decision after accepting an application by lawyer Lau Le Bin, representing Jacob Tiang Lee Yee, in accordance with Section 3(1) of the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023.
The panel comprised Justices Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Hanipah Farikullah.
Tiang was sentenced to death on Dec 17, 2014 after he was found guilty of murdering wife Ling Yung Ming, 40, daughter Christine, 14, and son Victor, 2, at the family’s house in Pulau Li Hua between 6.20am and 9.50am on July 5, 2013.
Based on past news reports, Tiang committed the murders as he owed moneylenders millions of ringgit.
On Aug 16, 2016, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and death sentence imposed by the High Court.
On Sept 19 last year, Tiang filed a Notice of Motion to the Federal Court to request for his death sentence to be commuted to imprisonment.
DPP Datin Asmah Musa appeared for the prosecution.

08 May 2024 :

The Court of Appeal in Putrajaya on May 7, 2024 commuted the death sentence imposed on two turtle egg collectors to 12 years imprisonment for causing the death of their colleague who was trying to break up a fight eight years ago.
A panel of three judges – led by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail, and joined by Justices Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Zaini Mazlan – meted out the sentence on Faizol Aznan Muhamad, 43, and Riduan Ismail, 35, after the court unanimously replaced their murder conviction with that of causing death by negligence under Section 304 (a) of the Penal Code.
“Their sentence is set aside, and replaced with a 12-year prison sentence, starting from the date of arrest,” Hadhariah said.
Faizol and Riduan were arrested in 2016 and 2017 respectively, Bernama reported.
Earlier, lawyer Ghazali Ismail, representing Faizol and Riduan, informed the court that the defence had submitted a representation to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to amend the charges.
“The 12-year prison sentence, starting from the date of arrest, was also agreed upon by both parties,” he said, and the matter was also confirmed by deputy public prosecutor, Amril Johari.
Faizol and Riduan later pleaded guilty to the new charge.
The two men were accused of causing the death of Razak Abdullah, 50, who was also a turtle egg collector, at Pantai Geliga, in front of SK Sri Geliga Chukai, Kemaman, at about 7am on June 3, 2016.
Based on the facts of the case, Faizol had an argument with a man, who was also a turtle egg collector, regarding the division of the turtle-laying area on the beach.
Razak tried to diffuse the argument, but an angered Faizol turned on him instead, repeatedly hitting him in the face with a stick. Riduan also hit Razak in the face with a helmet.
On Aug 9, 2021, the Kuala Terengganu High Court sentenced Faizol and Riduan to death, after finding that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt as to their guilt.

02 May 2024 :

Two former policemen escaped the gallows after the Federal Court’s three-member panel on April 30, 2024 commuted the death sentences imposed on them to 40 years in jail for the murder of an Indonesian mechanic 18 years ago.
The panel comprising Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Federal Court judges Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera allowed Ailias Yahya and Saiful Azlan Shah Abdullah’s review applications under the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023.
The duo, who have been incarcerated in prison for 18 years and three months, were ordered to serve jail sentences from the date of their arrest on Jan 22, 2006.
The court earlier rejected deputy public prosecutor Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi’s request to uphold the death sentence on the two former policemen as she said their case falls under the rarest of the rare category.
She told the court that the deceased Yusrizal Yusuf, 38, was under full control of the two men at all times, from the time of his arrest until his death.
Tetralina said Yusrizal was shot "execution style” when he was brought to an open space field at KM22, Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor-Batu Arang road, in Gombak, Selangor.
He was handcuffed and was told to kneel, and Saiful Azlan fired three shots to his head at close range while Ailias stood in front of the deceased.
Lawyer Muhammad Fadhli Sutris, representing Ailias and Saiful Azlan, however, urged the court to give his clients a second chance, saying that Ailias is suffering from a chronic disease and is wheel-chair bound while Saiful Azlan had been admitted to ICU several times.
He said Ailias, who had served the Royal Malaysia Police since 1976, and Saiful Azlan, who had worked with the police force since 1982, regretted what they had done and asked for mercy from the court as they wanted to meet their families.
Ailias, 70, a former corporal and Saiful Azlan, 60, a former lance corporal, were sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court in 2011 for killing Yusrizal at Ladang Caledonia KM22 between 10.00pm and 11.30pm on Jan 13, 2006.
They lost their appeals in the Court of Appeal and Federal Court to overturn their convictions and death sentences.
According to the facts of the case, the deceased was alleged to have had an affair with the wife of a man who had then lodged a police report after the deceased had threatened him.

18 April 2024 :

A total of 54 prisoners escaped death by hanging in Malaysia, after the Federal Court, sitting at the High Court in Kota Baru, Malaysia, on April 18, 2024, commuted their sentences to imprisonment between 30 and 38 years.
A three-judge panel led by the Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in a unanimous decision waived the death penalty for all the prisoners involved who were previously convicted of murder and drug cases.
For the drug cases, each of them was sentenced to 30 years in prison, while the sentences for the murder cases ranged from 35 to 38 years. The decision was made after the court accepted the application of all the accused made in accordance with Section 3(1) of the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Bill 2023.
Tun Tengku Maimun sat together with Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Datuk Nordin Hassan. The sitting at the High Court on April 17 and 18 involved six murder cases under Section 302 of the Penal Code and 48 drug cases under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
On April 17, there were five murder cases and 23 drug cases and one murder case and another 25 drug cases on April 18.
The prosecution of the case was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Fuad Abdul Aziz and Deputy Public Prosecutor Norzilati Izhani Zainal@Zainol, while the accused was represented by a lawyers appointed by the court.

28 March 2024 :

Two Filipinas, who had been on death row in Malaysia since 2013, were granted a reprieve when the Federal Court on March 26, 2024 granted them a revision of their sentence, bringing it down to 30 years’ jail.
A three-member bench, led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, substituted the death penalty punishments initially given to Aisa Bello Mensong, aged 44, and Eleonor Cantor Sadullo, aged 66, with 30 years’ jail instead.
Bello Mensong and Cantor Sadullo had been jointly convicted for trafficking 272.5g of heroin and 31.7g of morphine in 2008 and sentenced to death by the High Court in 2011.
The conviction and death sentences were initially upheld by the Court of Appeal and Federal Court in 2014.
The other two judges on the bench who sat with Tengku Maimun were Federal Court judges Datuk Rhodzhariah Bujang and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais.
The women are said to be the first two Philippine nationals to have their sentence relieved from the death penalty to 30 years’ jail following the apex court exercising its revisionary powers under Section 2 (revision of sentence) of the newly enacted law, Death Penalty and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023, that empowers the Federal Court to review and substitute a death penalty sentence.
Since the amendment law passed last year, courts are given the discretion to mete out either 30 years or a lifetime imprisonment penalty to replace the death sentence for the offences of trafficking and murder.
The Philippine embassy appointed Amin Othman as counsel to represent them, while Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Khusairy Ibrahim appeared for the prosecution.
Amin, who confirmed the reduction in the sentence with The Edge, said the duo are expected to be released possibly in three to four years’ time, depending on the remission order by the Prisons Department for good behaviour.

19 March 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.

14 March 2024 :

Two death sentences on March 13, 2024 were commuted in separate rulings at the Federal Court and Court of Appeal, in Putrajaya.
In the first case, the Federal Court commuted the death sentence of an Indonesian man to 30 years imprisonment for the murder of his girlfriend, for ending their relationship.
Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim who led a three-member panel with Federal Court judges Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, also ordered Untung to be given 12 strokes of the cane.
Untung, 42, a construction worker, was ordered to serve the prison sentence from Dec 23, 2018, which is the date of his arrest.
In delivering the court's decision, Justice Abang Iskandar said there was no merit in Untung's appeal.
On Aug 6, 2020, Untung was sentenced to death by the High Court, for killing Indonesian Asmaul Chasanah, 28, at the Masjid Al-Husna car park in Bandar Sunway, Petaling Jaya, Selangor at 10.15 pm on Dec 22, 2018.
The Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal on Oct 6, 2022.
Based on the case details, Untung acquired a bottle of pesticide, carried a kitchen knife, and waited for Asmaul in the car park. He confided in her, expressing sadness and revealing his intention to commit suicide.
Subsequently, he consumed the pesticide and stabbed himself. Instead of leaving the place, Asmaul mocked and insulted Untung, which provoked and led him to stab her.
Deputy public prosecutor Ng Siew Wee appeared for the prosecution, while lawyers Gooi Soon Seng and Lim Wei Qi represented Untung.
The second case saw the Court of Appeal commute an unemployed man's death sentence to 35 years imprisonment for killing his girlfriend's six-year-old son, Muhammad Rayyan Hidayat Hairil Khan in 2018.
The three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Datuk Azman Abdullah, and Datuk Azmi Ariffin also ordered Noraizuwan Hamali to be given 12 strokes of the cane and to serve the term from the date of his arrest on April 19, 2018.
The court, however, dismissed Noraizuwan's appeal to overturn his murder conviction.
Noraizuwan, 32, was sentenced to death by the Kangar High Court on Jan 21, 2022, after he was found guilty of killing Muhammad Rayyan at a house in Kampung Jejawi, Kangar, Perlis between 3.35 pm on April 18, 2018, and 12.10 am the following day.
Deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz appeared for the prosecution, while lawyer Farida Mohammad represented Noraizuwan.

06 February 2024 :

Five prisoners on death row in Sabah on February 5, 2024 saw their capital punishment substituted to imprisonment by the Federal Court.
Today was the first sitting of the Federal Court hearing applications filed under the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023 in Sabah.
They are Hasanuddin Sinring, 42, Chung Tain Kong Chung Fook Chong, 69, Joseph Che Suan Swan Ajuk, Vetus Juani, 57, and Sainal Abidin Mading Amri Gani, 49.
The death penalty for Hasanuddin was set aside and substituted to 30 years' imprisonment plus 12 strokes of the rotan, while the other four got 35 years' imprisonment from their respective date of arrest.
However, the death sentence on another death row prisoner, Jamaludin Saripudin, 46, was maintained as he raped and murdered a Primary Four pupil.
All the death row prisoners had previously lost their final appeal at the Federal Court between September 2002 and 2015.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli, and Federal Court judge Datuk Abu Bakar Jais unanimously made the decision during the hearing for the review of the death penalty sentences and life imprisonment.
Hasanuddin was convicted and sentenced to death on Jan 16, 2009, by the High Court after he was found guilty of murdering a 47-year-old businesswoman at 6.15pm on Oct 31, 2004 at a car park behind the Poring Cinema in Asia City.
Hasanuddin was arrested on Nov 5, 2004.
Chung was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend aged 36 on Jan 17, 2000, about 2.30pm at a house in Taman Cendawan, here. Chung was convicted and sentenced to death by the High Court on May 5, 2003.
Chung was arrested on Jan 17, 2000.
For Joseph, the High Court convicted and sentenced him on Oct 2, 2009 after he was found guilty of murdering his 50-year-old brother in front of a rubber plantation hut at Kampung Sugiang Ulu, Kemabong in Tenom on Oct 17, 2006 at 7am. He was arrested on Oct 19, 2006.
Vetus was convicted and sentenced by the High Court on July 8, 2011. He was found guilty of murdering a 39-year-old man on Oct 15, 2004, at 9.50pm at the workers' quarters, Kilang Kelapa Sawit Tong Len in Kunak. Vetus was arrested on May 18, 2007.
As for Sainal, he was convicted and sentenced on Dec 5, 1997, after he was found guilty of murdering a 25-year-old man on July 5, 1997, at about 4pm at Capital Veneers & amp; Plywood Sdn Bhd factory, Mile 9, Jalan Labuk, in Sandakan.
In Jamaludin's case, he was convicted and sentenced to death by the High Court on July 10, 2009, after he was found guilty of murdering a 9-year-old girl in a roadside bush, on a hillslope of Kg Ratau Tebobon, in Menggatal, between 7am and 8am, on Jan 8, 2004.
Jamaludin was arrested on Jan 8, 2004.
Meanwhile, another four prisoners who were previously sentenced to life imprisonment saw their imprisonment for life substituted to 30 years' imprisonment after the court allowed their respective applications.
They are Wong Vui Chin, 59, Fung Siew Fah, 63, Lim Pae Peter, 55, and Ignatius Ak James, 44.
Wong and Fung were convicted and sentenced to death on Oct 21, 2005, and Sept 3, 2007, respectively by the High Court for trafficking drugs under 39B(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Wong had trafficked 147.94 grams of syabu at the Labuan Ferry Terminal on June 16, 2000, while Fung trafficked 773.9 grams of syabu at Jalan Sin Onn Tiku in Tawau on May 26, 2005.
In Lim's case, he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for life plus six strokes of the whipping by the High Court in May 1996 for committing an offence under Section 5 Firearms Act (Increased Penalties) 1971.
Lim was arrested in October 1994. Following the court’s decision, Lim had completed his custodial sentence.
Meanwhile, Ignatius was sentenced to life imprisonment by the High Court on September 29, 2011 after he was found guilty under Section 7 of the Firearms Act (Increased Penalties) 1971. He was arrested in July 2009.
Counsel Hamid Ismail represented Chung, Jamaludin, Wong, Lim and Ignatius.
Counsel Farazwin Haxdy acted for Hasanudin and Sainal while counsel Goldam Hamid defended Joseph and Vetus and counsel David Tan represented Fung.

06 October 2024 :

Malaysia’s Federal Court on October 2, 2024 upheld the death sentences of seven Filipino men, including a nephew of self-proclaimed Sultan of Sulu, Jamalul Kiram, for waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia) during the Lahad Datu incursion 11 years ago.
A three-judge panel, led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, unanimously dismissed the review applications submitted by the seven men.
“The applications from all the petitioners are dismissed, and the death sentences are upheld,” said Justice Tengku Maimun, who sat alongside Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Amar Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court Judge Datuk Nordin Hassan.
The seven individuals are Datu Amirbahar Hushin Kiram, 60, who is the nephew of Jamalul Kiram; Atik Hussin Abu Bakar, 52; Basad H. Manuel, 49; Virgilio Nemar Patulada, 59; Al Wazir Osman, 68; Tani Lahad Dahi, 70; and Julham Rashid, 75.
The armed incursion, which occurred in Kampung Tanduo, Lahad Datu, between Feb 12 and April 10, 2013, led to the deaths of nine Malaysian security personnel during clashes with the group.
On July 26, 2016, the Kota Kinabalu High Court sentenced the seven men to life imprisonment after finding them guilty under Section 121 of the Penal Code for waging war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
In its ruling, the High Court stated that there was no evidence to show the accused were directly involved in the skirmishes during the incursion, nor was there proof that they brutally killed or injured any security personnel.
However, on June 8, 2017, the Court of Appeal imposed the death penalty after allowing the prosecution’s appeal.
The Federal Court subsequently upheld the death penalty on Jan 15, 2018.
However, two other Filipino men, Ismail Yasin and Salib Akhmad Emali, who had also been sentenced to death for the same offence, did not file for review as they died while serving their prison terms.
Earlier, defence counsel Mervyn @ Hasan Sainy had pleaded for the court to reinstate the life sentences handed down by the Kota Kinabalu High Court, arguing that there was no evidence linking his clients directly to the incursion.
“There is no evidence they killed anyone. We believe the High Court’s decision was just. Considering their advanced age, we ask that they be given a chance for leniency,” he said.
In response, Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, Head of the Appeals and Trial Division at the Attorney General’s Chambers, urged the court to maintain the death sentences, saying that the case involved national sovereignty.
He said the case involved a serious crime, and a deterrent punishment must be imposed to prevent similar offences from recurring.
“The magnitude of this case is unlike any other, with nine policemen perishing, some of whom were beheaded and mutilated. The incursion was committed by a foreign enemy, and we cannot send the wrong signal to the public.
“Therefore, the death sentence must be retained,” he said.
Mohd Dusuki was assisted by Deputy Public Prosecutors Datuk Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim and Tetralina Ahmad Fauzi.

31 July 2024 :

The Court of Appeal has sent six former National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) cadets to the gallows for the murder of fellow cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain seven years ago, The Star reported on July 23, 2024.
The Court of Appeal overturned the initial 18-year prison sentences imposed by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, reinstating the mandatory death penalty under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
The six students are Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri, and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali.
Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who chaired a three-judge panel, described the crime committed against Zulfarhan, who was branded with a hot iron all over his body including his private parts, as "shocking and rare".
The former students, who are all 28, were charged with committing the offence in a room at the Asrama Jebat block, UPNM, between 4.45 am and 5.45 am on May 22, 2017.
Zulfarhan died at the Serdang Hospital on June 1, 2017.
The case is still not over as all 6 accused can still appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision to the Federal Court.

22 July 2024 :

A 45-year-old man was ordered to be sent to the gallows by the High Court in Seremban after he was found guilty of the double murders of his adoptive parents, The Star reported on July 4, 2024.
Judge Datuk Rohani Ismail said the prosecution had proven its case against the accused Tan Kian Ngip beyond a reasonable doubt.
"The court also finds that the defence raised by the accused was a mere denial and an afterthought.
"And since the accused has chosen not to mitigate, the court hereby sentences him to death by hanging," she said.
Tan, who was previously a stockbroker, was charged with murdering retired engineer Tan Kim Joo,73, and his retired teacher wife Ng Chong Hwa, 67, at their house in Nilai between 4pm and 7.45pm on July 24, 2019.
He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the death penalty or imprisonment of up to 40 years and not less than 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
Counsel for the accused, S. Dynasri told the court that her client did not wish to mitigate before he was sentenced.
Deputy public prosecutor Alauddin Baharom said although the court could use its discretion to send the accused to jail, the only punishment he deserved was death by hanging.
"The accused had mercilessly killed two people who had raised him.
"The court should also take into account that this was a premeditated crime against his own family members," he said.
Alauddin said Kim Joo had 13 injuries on his body out of which seven were stab wounds.
His wife had 18 injuries with 11 stab wounds.
"The victims had raised the accused but he committed a heinous crime.
"The victims had stab wounds in their vital organs including the lungs, kidneys, liver and heart," he said.
Alauddin said the accused had also tried to hide his crime by trying to set the house ablaze but was unsuccessful.
According to media reports then, firemen who responded to a fire alert at the victims' house found their bodies with stab and slash wounds at separate locations in the house.
Alauddin said the accused had also used his girlfriend's car to travel from his house in Kuala Lumpur to Nilai several times before eventually killing them as part of the plan before committing the crime.
Alauddin said the court should also take into account a recent case where a man had murdered his brother and was sent to the gallows despite the amendments to the law giving courts the discretion not to impose the death penalty.
"That was also a premeditated murder where the victim was slashed.
"So, public interest has to take precedence in this case as well and the only punishment that should be meted out is death by hanging," he added.

18 July 2024 :

The Federal Court on July 2, 2024 upheld the death sentence imposed on a former barber for the murder of an 11-month-old baby girl known as ‘Zara’ who suffered serious vaginal injuries due to sexual assault, six years ago.
In a unanimous decision reached by a panel of three judges led by Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, the court dismissed the final appeal by Hazmi Majid, 42, to set aside his conviction and sentence.
“The conviction and (death) sentence is safe. This court upholds the sentence as decided by the Court of Appeal and the High Court,“ said Judge Rhodzariah, sitting with Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
Earlier, lawyer T. Vijayandran, representing Hazmi, submitted that his client was unaware of his action as he was under the influence of drugs and requested the death sentence to be set aside and replaced with a 30-year imprisonment.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi said the plea of being under the influence of drugs should dismissed as Hazmi attempted to dispose of evidence by washing a towel to remove blood, showing that he was conscious when the incident happened.
According to Tetralina, the case meets the requirement of “the rarest of rare cases’ which justifies the death penalty being upheld.
“The victim was sent by her mother to the babysitter’s house at 6.45 am on the day of the incident and the child died at 1.30 pm. She only weighs 8.26 kilograms, her teeth have not yet grown and the severe haemorrhaging of the brain means that her chances of survival are slim,“ she said.
Based on the prosecution evidence, the appellant never offered to help his wife, who was the child’s babysitter, but on that day he volunteered to bathe the victim.
Hazmi was found guilty of killing and causing the death of Nur Muazara Ulfa Mohammad Zainal or Zara, in a unit at Pangsapuri Sri Cempaka, Bandar Baru Bangi, between 10.30 am and 1.30 pm on Nov 7, 2018.
The man was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which provides for the death penalty, upon conviction.
In March last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the death sentence handed down on Hazmi by the Shah Alam High Court on Aug 20, 2021.
In 2019, Hazmi was also sentenced to 13 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane by the Shah Alam High Court on two counts of sexually abusing the child. He had pleaded guilty to inserting his finger into the 11-month-old infant’s private parts.
The media had reported that the infant died two days after being in critical condition at Serdang Hospital, Selangor, believed to be due to physical and sexual abuse by her babysitter’s husband.

26 June 2024 :

The Federal Court in Putrajaya on May 29, 2024 upheld the death sentence of a former businessman for the murder of a female marketing executive 18 years ago.
The three-member panel comprising Justices Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal, Datuk Nordin Hassan, and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais dismissed Shahril Jaafar’s review application to commute his death sentence to life imprisonment under the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023.
“We wish to reiterate this court is always aligned to compassion and mercy. In our view this is an exceptional case with exceptional facts,” said Justice Harmindar.
He said the deceased (Chee Gaik Yap) had suffered exceptional violence at Shahril’s hands. He pointed out that the 25-year-old woman was abducted, sodomised, raped, and killed by Shahril.
He said the crime caused public uproar and shock, adding that the incident took place in broad daylight.
“We are constrained to dismiss Shahril’s application and the death sentence is upheld,” said Justice Harmindar.
In 2015, Shahril, 43, was found guilty by the Alor Setar High Court of killing Chee, a Universiti Utara Malaysia graduate, near the Cinta Sayang Club in Taman Ria Jaya, Sungai Petani, between 5.30pm on January 14 and 3.05am on January 15, 2006.
He was sentenced to death, and his subsequent appeals at the Court of Appeal and Federal Court were dismissed in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
Earlier, Shahril’s lawyer Rosli Kamaruddin asked the court to commute the death sentence imposed on his client to life imprisonment.
He conveyed Shahril’s remorse and appealed to the court for a chance at redemption, citing his client’s active participation in prison rehabilitation programmes as a testament to his commitment to repent.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Dusuki Mokhtar, who was assisted by DPP Solehah Noratikah Ismail objected to Shahril’s application and urged the court to uphold the death sentence, noting that this is the rarest of rare cases.
He said it was a brutal kidnap, rape, sodomise, and murder of a young lady who had gone jogging with her younger sister, adding that her semi-nude body was found nine hours later in a bush near the jogging track.
Dusuki said forensic pathologists found 50 wounds on Chee’s body, including around her private parts where Shahril’s DNA was found.
He said Shahril fled to Australia for three years to avoid investigation and arrest. He was finally detained six years later at KLIA upon his arrival from Perth in January 2012.