Malaysian court upholds death penalty verdict against six students: summary

What we know

• Malaysia's Court of Appeal has reinstated the death penalty for six former students of the National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) involved in the fatal bullying of fellow cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain. This ruling overturns a previous High Court decision that had reduced their charges and sentences.
• In November 2021, the High Court convicted the six students under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code for causing death without intent to kill, sentencing them to 18 years in prison. This decision was met with public outcry, as many felt the punishment did not fit the severity of the crime.
• The prosecution appealed the High Court's decision, arguing that the evidence supported a charge of murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries a mandatory death sentence. On July 23, 2024, a three-judge panel led by Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail agreed with the prosecution, reinstating the murder charges and the death penalty for all six defendants.
• Justice Hadhariah described the crime as "the rarest of the rare," emphasising the brutality and premeditated nature of the act. She expressed deep sympathy for Zulfarhan's family, acknowledging the immense pain and suffering they endured.
• The tragic incident occurred in May 2017, when Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain was brutally tortured by his peers at the UPNM's Jebat hostel. The cadet suffered severe injuries, including burns covering 80% of his body from 90 instances of steam ironing. He succumbed to his injuries on June 1, 2017.
• The six students are Mohd Hafiz Fauzan Ismail, Mohamad Lukhmanul Hakim Mohd Zain, Ahmad Shafwan Berdal, Muhammad Amirul Asraff Mala, Luqman Hakim Shamsuri Agus, Muhammad Sufi Mohd Mustapha, Noriznan Izzairi Noor Azhar, Muhamad Ashraf Abdullah, Muhammad Danial Firdaus Azmir, Muhammad Hasif Ismail, Muhammad Adib Iman Fuad Ady Sani, and Mohamad Syazwan Musa.

What they said

“We agree with the prosecution that the way the murder was conducted ‘shocked not only the judicial conscience but even the collective conscience of the society. This case is the rarest of the rare involving a heinous crime. Such cruelty must be stopped. Only Allah would know how they (the deceased's parents) must have been destroyed when they saw that their son was treated that way. Therefore we unanimously decide that there will be only one sentence for all six accused persons, where all of them shall be taken to the gallows where they will be hung to death," Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who chaired a three-judge panel during the proceedings said on Tuesday, July 23, according to The Star.