Prosecution to appeal against court's ruling on Zulfarhan's case

KUALA LUMPUR: The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) will appeal against the High Court's ruling to convict six students of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) who were initially charged with murdering UPNM cadet officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain to culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun when asked whether the AGC would file an appeal to restore Section 302 of the Penal Code against the accused, said: "Yes, we will file an appeal."

The six accused escaped the gallows but were sentenced to 18 years' jail yesterday by High Court judge Datuk Azman Abdullah after they were found guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to the murder of Zulfarhan Osman four years ago.

They are Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali.

Of the six accused, five were charged with the murder of Zulfarhan Osman under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction, while Abdoul Hakeem was charged with abetting the murder under Section 109 of the same act, which carries a similar sentence.

The judge, in his decision, however, said that the court found all the accused guilty under Section 304 (a) of the Penal Code for causing injuries to the deceased (Zulfarhan Osman) with no intent to murder, which carries a jail term of up to 30 years and shall also be liable to a fine, upon conviction.

The court also sentenced five of the accused, except Mohamad Shobirin, and their 12 friends after finding them guilty of injuring Zulfarhan Osman. Mohamad Shobirin was previously charged with the same offence but was acquitted of the charge at the end of the prosecution's case.

They 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.

All of them, now aged 25, committed the offence in two rooms at the Jebat dormitory block, UPNM, on May 21 and 22, 2017

Zulfarhan Osman succumbed to his injuries at Serdang Hospital on June 1, 2017.

Justice Azman in his judgment said he was satisfied that the 90 burn wounds inflicted on Zulfarhan Osman by five of the accused using a hot steam iron had caused his death, but ruled that it was not a premeditated murder.

He said after considering the testimonies of two medical experts who were a prosecution and a defence witness respecively, the court found that Zulfarhan Osman's death was not a sudden death after being injured.

-- BERNAMA