Appeals court reinstates death penalty for six ex-UPNM students in fatal bullying case

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has sent six former National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) cadets to the gallows for the murder of fellow cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain seven years ago.

This was following a reinstatement of Section 302 of the Penal Code against the six – Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri, and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali.

Justice Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who chaired a three-judge panel, described the crime committed against Zulfarhan as “the rarest of the rare” and spoke about what his parents must have felt.

“Only Allah would know how they must have been destroyed,” she said here on Tuesday (July 23).

She called upon all six accused to stand up before handing the sentence.

“All six accused persons shall be taken to the gallows where they will be hung to death,” she said.

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Other judges on the bench were Justices Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Azmi Ariffin.

The panel had earlier reinstated Section 302 against the six as they found the trial judge had erred when he reduced the charge.

The first five defendants were initially charged with murder under Section 302, which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction, while Abdoul Hakeem was charged with abetting the murder under Section 109, which carries the same penalty.

However, the High Court later amended the charge to Section 304(a) and convicted them on Nov 2, 2021, for causing Zulfarhan’s death without intent to kill him.

Section 304(a) of the Penal Code provides a prison sentence of up to 30 years and a fine, upon conviction, if the act is committed with intent to cause death.

They were charged with committing the offence in a room at the Asrama Jebat block, UPNM, between 4.45 am and 5.45 am on May 22, 2017. Zulfarhan died at the Serdang Hospital on June 1, 2017.