PUTRAJAYA – Parents of murdered naval cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain fell to their knees in relief as they exited the courtroom after the Court of Appeal convicted the six killers of murder and sentenced them to death.
Zulkarnain Idros, 60, and his wife Hawa Osman, 61, did not hold back their tears as they hugged family members who were waiting outside the courtroom.
Zulkarnain, who donned a t-shirt with the hashtags #justice4farhan, #sayNOtobully and #humanity, told reporters that he only knew the full extent and details of what was done to his 21-year-old son when the judgement was read.
“We’re saddened to know the real, exact truth of what happened… we didn’t know any of this when the case was in the high court.”
He also said he was grateful that all his prayers for justice have been answered.
“I am ever grateful to Allah for answering the prayers of my wife and I, as well as my family’s for the death penalty and murder conviction to be reinstated.
“We thanked the prosecution for all their hard work, in proving that there was intent to murder and the panel of judges for reinstating the death penalty.
“We could not hold back our tears when we sat through the judgement. It is truly a relief… we may hold a ‘doa selamat’ soon.”
Earlier, the Court of Appeal convicted the six former Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) students of murder for torturing Zulfarhan in May 2017, which led to his death days later.
The court also handed down the death penalty for the “despicable, inhumane and merciless” acts inflicted on Zulfarhan, including 90 scald burns covering 80% of his body.
The six sentenced to death are Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmuddin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali.
The court increased the prison term for 12 other former UPNM students who were involved in the incident, from three years to four years imprisonment, after finding that they took part in beating the deceased for two days straight.
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.
They were found guilty in 2021 of deliberately injuring Zurfarhan to coerce a confession from him that he had stolen a laptop, as charged under Section 330 of the Penal Code.
They were granted a stay of execution during the high court’s sentencing. However, no such application was made before the Court of Appeal panel today.
Deputy public prosecutor K Mangaiarkarasi led the prosecution team today alongside J. Jothi Nadrarasan and Solehah Noratikah Ismail.
Meanwhile, lawyers Amer Hamzah Arshad, Datuk Hisyam Teh Pok Teik, Datuk Seri M. Ramachelvam, Datuk Hazman Ahmad and Datuk Mohd Zamri Mohd Idrus represents the six accused.
Lawyers AG Kalidas and Wesley Wong, Azizul Shariman Mat Yusoff and Datuk Abdul Karim Abd Rahman appeared for the remaining 12 former UPNM students.
Hisyam and Amer, when met after today’s proceeding said they were disappointed with the appellate court’s judgement.
“With respect to the court, we are disappointed and will file the notice of appeal (to Federal Court) soon. We believe the high court’s decisions are correct, to an extent.
“With this, there are issues that we will ventilate and argue at the Federal Court.” – July 23, 2024