Malaysia | Federal Court reinstates death penalty for man who killed wife and infant

The Federal Court on Friday reinstated the death penalty for a former lorry driver convicted of murdering his wife and 7-month-old daughter in 2016.

Notably, the decision coincided with Satvender Singh’s 39th birthday.

A 3-judge panel comprising Justices Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, Datuk Abu Bakar Jais, and Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil allowed the prosecution’s appeal to reinstate the High Court’s initial conviction and sentence.

Justice Rhodzariah, delivering the unanimous decision, stated that the death penalty was the appropriate sentence given the gravity of the crime.

She further noted that the case was supported by clear and irrefutable circumstantial evidence, which pointed to Satvender as the perpetrator.

"He was the last person seen with the victims, as confirmed by the testimonies of his immediate neighbours,” she said.

Justice Rhodzariah said the Federal Court concurred with the High Court’s findings that Satvender had staged the crime scene to justify the killings.

She noted that both victims died of asphyxia and were found close to each other. The evidence strongly suggested that a pillow had been used to smother the infant while she was drinking milk.

In August 2021, the Shah Alam High Court sentenced Satvender to death after finding him guilty of murdering his wife, D Kamaljit, 34, and their infant daughter, Ishilyn Kaur Sandhu, at a double-storey terrace house in Taman Rawang Perdana 2, Rawang, between 3.55am and 4.15am on April 14, 2016.

However, in November last year, the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction and death sentence for his wife’s murder, reducing it to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and imposed a 20-year prison sentence.

The appellate court also acquitted and discharged him of his daughter’s murder.

The prosecution appealed this decision to the Federal Court, while Satvender filed a cross-appeal seeking acquittal on the manslaughter charge. However, his appeal was dismissed on Friday (March 14).

Satvender’s lawyer, Rajpal Singh, requested the court to commute the death sentence to a prison term, citing the recent Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023.

He submitted that his client was a first-time offender and had already served 8 years in prison, adding that today was also Satvender’s birthday.

Deputy public prosecutor Noorhisham Mohd Jaafar urged the court to uphold the death sentence, emphasising that Kamaljit had been strangled, while the infant had died from asphyxia.

He contended that the crime was premeditated, with Satvender staging the crime scene to conceal his actions and mislead the police investigation.

Noorhisham further highlighted that Satvender had subjected Kamaljit to prolonged physical and psychological abuse before her death.

Meanwhile, lawyer S Arvind, holding a watching brief for Kamaljit’s mother, urged the court to reinstate the High Court’s original decision, stating that her death had left an "irreplaceable void” in the family.

Source: thestar.com.my, Staff, March 15, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

Comments

Singapore executes three drug mules over two days

Singapore hanged three people for drug offences last week, bringing the total number of executions to 17 this year - the highest since 2003. These come a week before a constitutional challenge against the death penalty for drug offences is due to be heard. Singapore has some of the world's harshest anti-drug laws, which it says are a necessary deterrent to drug crime, a major issue elsewhere in South East Asia. Anyone convicted of trafficking - which includes selling, giving, transporting or administering - more than 15g of diamorphine, 30g of cocaine, 250g of methamphetamine and 500g of cannabis in Singapore will be handed the death sentence.

Florida | After nearly 50 years on death row, Tommy Zeigler seeks final chance at freedom

The Winter Garden Police chief was at a party on Christmas Eve 1975 when he received a phone call from his friend Tommy Zeigler, the owner of a furniture store on Dillard Street. “I’ve been shot, please hurry,” Zeigler told the chief as he struggled for breath. When police arrived at the store, Zeigler, 30, managed to unlock the door and then collapsed “with a gaping bullet hole through his lower abdomen,” court records show. In the store, detectives found a gruesome, bloody crime scene and several guns. Four other people — Zeigler’s wife, his in-laws and a laborer — lay dead.

Louisiana death row inmate freed after nearly 30 years as overturned conviction upends case

A Louisiana man who spent nearly 30 years on death row walked out of prison Wednesday after a judge overturned his conviction and granted him bail. Jimmie Duncan, now in his 60s, was sentenced to death in 1998 for the alleged rape and drowning of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter, Haley Oliveaux — a case long clouded by disputed forensic testimony. His release comes months after a state judge ruled that the evidence prosecutors used to secure the conviction was unreliable and rooted in discredited bite-mark analysis.

Vietnam | Woman sentenced to death for poisoning 4 family members with cyanide

A woman in Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam was sentenced to death on Thursday for killing family members including two young children in a series of cyanide poisonings that shocked her community. The Dong Nai People's Court found 39-year-old Nguyen Thi Hong Bich guilty of murder and of illegally possessing and using toxic chemicals. Judges described her actions as "cold-blooded, inhumane and calculated," saying Bich exploited the trust of her victims and "destroyed every ethical bond within her family."

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Utah | Ralph Menzies dies on death row less than 3 months after his execution was called off

Judge was set to consider arguments in December about Menzies’ mental fitness Ralph Menzies, who spent more than 3 decades on Utah’s death row for the 1986 murder of Maurine Hunsaker, has died. Menzies, 67, died of “presumed natural causes at a local hospital” Wednesday afternoon, according to the Utah Department of Corrections. Matt Hunsaker, Maurine Hunsaker’s son, said Menzies’ death “was a complete surprise.” “First off, I’d say that I’m numb. And second off, I would say, grateful,” Hunsaker told Utah News Dispatch. “I’m grateful that my family does not have to endure this for the holidays.”

Afghanistan's Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium

The man had been convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including children, and was executed by one of their relatives, according to police. Afghanistan's Taliban authorities carried out the public execution of a man on Tuesday convicted of killing 13 members of a family, including several children, earlier this year. Tens of thousands of people attended the execution at a sports stadium in the eastern city of Khost, which the Supreme Court said was the eleventh since the Taliban seized power in 2021 in the wake of the chaotic withdrawal of US and NATO forces.

Afghanistan | Two Sons Of Executed Man Also Face Death Penalty, Says Taliban

The Taliban governor’s spokesperson in Khost said on Tuesday that two sons of a man executed earlier that day have also been sentenced to death. Their executions, he said, have been postponed because the heir of the victims is not currently in Afghanistan. Mostaghfer Gurbaz, spokesperson for the Taliban governor in Khost, also released details of the charges against the man executed on Tuesday, identified as Mangal. He said Mangal was accused of killing members of a family.

Iran carries out public hanging of "double-rapist"

Iran on Tuesday publicly executed a man after convicting him of raping two women in the northern province of Semnan. The execution was carried out in the town of Bastam after the Supreme Court upheld the verdict, the judiciary's official outlet Mizan Online reported. Mizan cited the head of the provincial judiciary, Mohammad Akbari, as saying the ruling had been 'confirmed and enforced after precise review by the Supreme Court'. The provincial authority said the man had 'deceived two women and committed rape by force and coercion', adding that he used 'intimidation and threats' to instil fear of reputational harm in the victims.

Kuwait | New Anti-Drug Law Introduces Death Penalty, Surprise Testing, and Strict Enforcement

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 26: Divorce rates in Kuwait are rising, with recent statistics indicating that addiction—particularly among wives—has become a significant contributing factor. In response, authorities are preparing to introduce surprise premarital drug testing as part of a broader set of reforms under Kuwait’s new drug law. The countdown has officially begun for the enforcement of this new legislation, which was drafted by a judicial committee formed by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Fahd Al-Yousef. The committee is headed by Counselor Mohammed Rashid Al-Duaij.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog