Federal Court upholds death sentence of two SMART members for murder

PUTRAJAYA: Two members of the Special Malaysian Disaster Assistant and Rescue Team (SMART) failed in their final appeal in the Federal Court to set aside the death sentence imposed on them for killing a fish pond operator seven years ago.

A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Abdul Rahman Sebli, Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim unanimously dismissed Syazwan Saad and Iskandar Zulkarnain Abdul Manaf's appeal against their conviction and death sentence.

Justice Abdul Rahman who led the bench said it was the court's view that the circumstantial evidence adduced by the prosecution is strong enough to establish the guilt of both men for the murder.

"Having given careful consideration, we are not persuaded that the Court of Appeal was wrong in affirming the decision of the High Court," he said.

Syazwan, 36, and Iskandar, 35, were found guilty and sentenced the death by the High Court on Aug 30, 2016, for murdering Alias Mat Noor, 52, at Lombong Tembatan Banjir, Lingkaran Putrajaya, Cyberjaya, Sepang, Selangor between 11 pm on July 7, 2015, and 6 pm on July 10, 2015.

They lost their appeal when it was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Oct 20, last year, which prompted them to appeal to the Federal Court.

According to the facts of the case, on July 8, 2015, the victim was supposed to fetch his son to go to his durian orchard but he did not turn up.

On July 10, 2015, the police received information that an unidentified body was found floating in the flood retention pond, which the victim's children identified as their father.

The victim's brother who worked at the durian orchard testified that he saw the victim with two unknown men in a red Mitsubishi Pajero on July 7, 2015.

Another prosecution witness who was Iskandar's supervising officer testified that he received a WhatsApp message from Lim Chun Jie, containing the victim's identity card and a message saying "kasi settle" (settle it).

Lim, a marketing manager 31, was charged with abetting Syazwan and Iskandar to commit murder under Section 109 of the Penal Code read together with Section 302 of the Penal Code.

The High Court had found him guilty and sentenced him to death but the Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged him. The prosecution did not appeal.

Lawyers Datuk Hisyam Teh Poh Teik and Kee Wei Lon represented Syazwan while lawyer Andrew Lourdes represented Iskandar.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Parvin Hameedah Natchiar and Aida Khairuleen Azli appeared for the prosecution.

-- BERNAMA