Malaysia’s highest court found a 24-year-old man guilty of killing a dental technologist four years ago and gave him the death penalty today, Bernama reported.
Abdul Malik Rosli received the punishment after Judge Azizul Azmi Adnan determined that the defence had failed to present any legitimate objections to the prosecution’s case.
The judge said he had carefully considered the defence’s evidence and come to the conclusion that the prosecution had made a case in accordance with Section 302 of the Penal Code
On Jan. 19, 2018, at roughly 1:40 am, Abdul Malik was accused of killing Mahussin Abdul Rahim, 28, who was found dead on the fourth floor of the Lukut health quarters in Port Dickson.
Mahussin’s body was discovered by his friend 72 hours after he was reported missing when he failed to turn up for work on Jan. 22, 2018.
Husni Fairos Ramli, a deputy public prosecutor, emphasised that murder is a serious offence and urged the court to consider the public interest to serve as a warning to others.
“According to the facts of the case, the crime was premeditated and the accused even took the victim’s belongings and beat him with items from the deceased’s house,” he said.
It was not a premeditated act, according to the accused’s lawyer Haniff Hasan, who also requested the court to consider the accused’s background. Instead, he claimed that his client lost control due to emotional stress.
“He was 20 years old at the time, still and with no steady job, and came from a poor family. His family was not present today because they could not afford to come to court,” he said.
Hanif said the defence will appeal the decision.
In June, Malaysia agreed to abolish the mandatory use of the death penalty and instead leave sentencing up to the discretion of the courts.
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