PUTRAJAYA: Six former students of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) have been sentenced to death by a Malaysian court for the brutal murder of navy cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, which occurred seven years ago.
On Tuesday (July 23), the Court of Appeal, led by Judge Hadhariah Syed Ismail, overturned the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s original ruling, which had sentenced the students to 18 years in prison. Instead, the court reinstated the mandatory death penalty under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Judge Hadhariah stated that the panel of three judges found that five of the students had taken turns pressing a hot steam iron on Zulfarhan’s body, including his private parts. The sixth student, Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali, was found guilty of inciting and instructing the others to carry out the act.
The six convicted students 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.
The court unanimously decided that all six defendants should face the death penalty, and they will be taken to an execution chamber for death by hanging.
The case dates back to May 2017 when the six students were accused of torturing Zulfarhan, leading to his death on June 1, 2017. Initially, the students were convicted of causing injury to Zulfarhan with the intent to cause harm but without the intent to kill. They were sentenced under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison and a fine.
The six students allegedly tortured Zulfarhan at the Jebat Hostel block at UPNM between 4:45 am and 5:45 am on May 22, 2017. Zulfarhan was beaten, kicked, and repeatedly burned with a steam iron. Despite the brutal torture, Zulfarhan never admitted to taking the laptop of one of the accused, Akmal Zuhairi.
The three-judge panel also overturned the three-year prison sentences of 12 other former students of UPNM, who had been convicted for injuring Zulfarhan in an attempt to obtain a confession. These 12 individuals were sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of deliberately causing injury to Zulfarhan in order to force him to admit that he had stolen a laptop.
The 12 students were charged under Section 330 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison and a fine.
This tragic incident has been a haunting chapter in Malaysia’s history, highlighting the severe consequences of bullying, torture, and abuse within educational institutions.