The court from the court injured them in the case of Zulfarhan insufficient to demonstrate murder, support the term 18-year-olds for six former students of UPNM

Putrajaya, February 28 – The Federal Court decided that the wounds suffered by the Universities Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) The Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain Cadet officer, who led to his death, did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt to be enough enough to cause death.

A group of three judges, led by the chief judge of Malaya Datuk Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, said that Zulfarhan gave up his wounds 10 days after the attack, which took place between May 21 and 22, 2017.

“Based on a comprehensive analysis of the evidence, we discover that the sufficient injury element to cause death has not been established, undoubtedly reasonable.

“As such, the criminal prosecution cannot be based on section 300 (C) of the Criminal Code to demonstrate the crime of murder in this case,” she said.

FOLLOWING THIS FINDING, The Court Set Aside the Death Senters and Upheld the 18-Year Prison Terdes on Former Students Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamudddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad AFF Najmudin AzaHat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri, and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali because he caused Zulfarhan’s death without intention.

Judge Hasnah, seated alongside the judges of the Federal courts Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, stressed that, in an accusation of murder, a crucial element is whether the wounds suffered by the victim were usually sufficient to cause death.

She mentioned that, although this is a factual decision for the judge, the testimony of the experts must be considered and granted in due weight.

“In this case, a key proof is the testimony of witness 6 (PW6), Dr. Salmah Arshad, who performed the post-mortem exam on the victim.

“Pw6 has initially agreed with the criminal prosecution that the burning wounds or the scald wounds suffered by the victim are usually sufficient to cause death. However, in order to determine this factual issue, the Court must examine the entire testimony of the PW6 along with other relevant evidence to determine if this element has been proven, ”she said.

However, Judge Hasnah mentioned that PW6 subsequently changed its statement during cross-examination, clarifying that burns covering 30 to 50 % of the body could cause death, but are not necessarily fatal.

“During the cross -lender by the Defense Lawyer, the witness agreed that the third -degree burns do not automatically result in death. In particular, the criminal prosecution did not approach this aspect of the PW6 testimony during re -examination.

“In this regard, the testimony of witness 19 (DW19), Dr. Rohayu Shahar Adnan, has been taken into account, which challenged the findings of PW6,” said Judge Hasnah, adding that the conviction of the appellant for murder and abandonment (in the case of Abdoul Hakeem) could not be respected.

Meanwhile, Judge Hasnah said that the evidence established that the first in the fifth appellant deliberately caused the injury by pressing a steam iron against Zulfarhan’s body and physically assaulted it.

This was corroborated by testimonies from criminal prosecution 24 (PW24) Ahmad Senabil Mohamad and witness of prosecutor 25 (PW25) MOHD Syafiq Abdullah, both former students of UPNM.

“The judge also found PW24 and PW25 as credible witnesses. At the level of appeal, we find no reason to interfere with the factual conclusions of the judge, because the court had the advantage of evaluating the behavior of witnesses through a direct audio and visual observation.

“Consequently, the decision of the Court of Appeal condemning the murder appellants is canceled. However, there is sufficient evidence to support a conviction in accordance with section 304 letter (a) of the Criminal Code. As such, the court reinstals the sentence of 18 years of imprisonment, in force from the date of arrest (June 1, 2017), in accordance with section 304 (a) of the Criminal Code, ”she decided.

On July 23 last year, the Court of Appeal sentenced the six former students of UPNM to death for killing Zulfarhan, after allowing the cross -prosecution of the criminal prosecution to reinstall the charge under section 302 of the Criminal Code.

Earlier, Muhammad Akmal, Muhammad Azamuddin, Muhammad Najib, Muhammad AFF and Mohamad Shobirin were accused of killing Zulfarhan under Section 302 of the Criminal Code, which has a sentence of compulsory death.

Meanwhile, the Hakeem abdo has been accused of affecting the crime in accordance with section 109 of the same code, which prescribes the same punishment.

On November 2, 2021, the High Court Kuala Lumpur sentenced all six persons to 18 years in prison after sentenced them in accordance with section 304 (a) of the Criminal Code for provoking Zulfarhan’s death without the intention of killing.

Former students, 29 years ago, were proved to have committed the crime in a room in the Jebat bedroom, UPNM, between 4.45 AM and 5.45 AM on May 22, 2017.

Zulfarhan gave in to his wounds at Serdang Hospital on June 1, 2017.

Speaking with reporters after the procedures, lawyer Datuk Seri M. Ramachelvam, who was assisted by the Ameer Radzi Azlan in the representation of Muhammad Affect, said that his client and the other appellants will execute only four years from their prison sentence.

“My client’s family apologized to the victim’s family for what happened,” Ramachelvam said.

During today’s procedures, the other appellants were represented by lawyers Amer Camzah Arshad, Datuk Hisyam Tei Poh Teiik, Datuk Mohd Zamri Mohd Idrus and Datuk Hazman Ahmad, while the criminal prosecution was led by public prosecutor K. Mangai.

The members of the appellant family were seen in tears while they hugged the children in the dock immediately after the decision was taken. – Bernama