By Ho Kit Yen | Free Malaysia Today


Zulkarnain Idros and his wife Hawa Osman speaking to the media at the Palace of Justice today after the Court of Appeal convicted six men of murdering their son, Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, in 2017.

The Court of Appeal has imposed the death sentence on six former National Defence University (UPNM) students convicted of murdering navy cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain seven years ago.

Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who chaired the panel, said the death sentence was warranted given the cruelty of Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Azamuddin Sofi, Najib Razi, Afif Najmudin Azahat, Shobirin Sabri, and Hakeem Ali’s actions.

Also on the bench were Justices Zaini Mazlan and Azmi Ariffin.

The court had earlier convicted the six men of murdering Zulfarhan at UPNM’s Jebat hostel on May 22, 2017.

The High Court in 2021 tried the six for murder but reduced their charge to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and sentenced them to 18 years in prison.

In May, the prosecution sought the death penalty for the six accused as a deterrent to the community and to emphasise the rejection of bullying and extreme abuse.

At the time, Deputy Public Prosecutor K. Mangai argued that the torture of Zulfarhan, which resulted in 90 scald burns covering 80% of his body, constituted an extreme act.

She said an autopsy revealed that the scalding burns were the cause of death.

In imposing the death penalty, Hadhariah said the six men’s actions showed their blatant disregard for a human’s life.

“They heard the deceased (Zulfarhan) screaming many times but turned deaf ears and continued to place a steam iron against him (to force him to confess to the theft of a laptop).

They tried to hide their actions from the university by not bringing the deceased to seek treatment, she added.

Hadhariah said this was among the rarest of rare cases that warrants the imposition of the death penalty.

She said any parent would feel depressed to see their son’s lifeless body showing the full extent of the injuries suffered.

The appeals court also sentenced 12 other former students to four years in prison for assaulting Zulfarhan.

Zulfarhan’s father, Zulkarnian Idros later told reporters that the family cried throughout the two-hour reading of the appeals court judgment in which the court detailed how his son was assaulted.

He added that justice has been served to the family with the six men facing the death penalty.

But there will be one more stage for them to appeal (at the Federal Court), Zulkarnian said.

Meanwhile lawyers Hisyam Teh and Amer Hamzah Arshad, who are leading the six men’s defence team, said they were disappointed with the decision and sentence.

Hisyam and Amer said their clients intend to file their final appeal at the Federal Court.


Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2024/07/23/appeals-court-sentences-cadet-zulfarhans-murderers-to-death/