KOTA KINABALU: Seven more prisoners on death row in Sabah had their death penalty set aside by the Federal Court here, including a man who murdered his parents over money.
They are Yew Wui Lam, 43, Muhammad Halid Mappa, 62, Safruddin Nasir, 37, Abdul Samid Edward, 41, Mohd Faris Mohd Johan, 60, Mohammad Din Munap, 58, and Edmon John, 55.
Yew, Muhammad Halid, Safruddin and Abdul Samid had their death sentence for murder substituted to 35 years imprisonment from their respective date of arrest and 12 strokes of the cane.
Mohd Faris, Mohammad Din, and Edmon had their death sentence for drug trafficking substituted to 30 years. No whipping is imposed due to their age.
The three-member panel chaired by 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 of the prisoners' application under The Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023.
Yew was found guilty of murdering his father aged 71, and mother aged 62, with a knife between 10am and 10.50pm on Sept 13, 2011 in a house at Beatrice Estate, Sandakan.
Muhammad Halid murdered his wife aged 29 on May 10, 2009, between 9am and 10.50am at Kg Langkabang, in Tongod district.
Safruddin was found guilty of murdering an 18-year-old youth in front of a house in Taman Seri Bayu, Manggatal.
Abdul Samid had murdered a man aged 26, on Oct 11, 2008 at a bus stop in Kampung Kurnia Jaya, Tawau.
For the drug cases, Mohd Faris, Mohammad Din, and Edmon had respectively trafficked 73.76g, 74.48g and 141.16g of syabu between 2010 and 2014.
Another prisoner whose application was allowed by the court is Faizal Hisham Mohd Nasir, 37.
The court set aside his life imprisonment sentence under Section 4 of the Firearms Act (Increased Penalties) 1971 and substituted it to 30 years imprisonment from the date of arrest (Sept 9, 2015).
Meanwhile, two prisoners – Rudy Jupri, 38, and Dourin Murah, 56 – failed in their application. The court dismissed their application and maintained their death sentence for murder.
Rudy had murdered two girls – both siblings aged 17 and 6 on April 15, 2009 between 10am and 5pm at an unnumbered house in Kg Lung Manis, Beluran, while Dourin had used a "bakakuk" (homemade gun) to murder a man aged 52, at a rubber plantation in Kampung Tenggulun Jaya in Sook, Keningau at 1pm on July 12, 2008.
Prisoners in Malaysia sentenced to death or life can apply for a review of their sentences after the implementation of a new law allowing such reviews by the Federal Court.
On Sept 12, 2023, the federal government implemented the new law, known as the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023.
Deputy public prosecutor Datin Asmah Musa, Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi, and Zaki Asyraf Zubir appeared for the prosecution.
Counsel Shahlan Jufri represented Dourin, Safruddin, and Mohd Faris Mohd Johan, while counsel Edward Paul represented Rudy and Edmon.
Counsels Jhasarry P Kang, David Tan Hock Tho, andJamadi Saleh represented Abdul Samid, Mohammad Din, and Faizal respectively.
Counsel Zaleha Mohd Yusuf Pan represented Yew and Muhammad Halid.
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