6 Former UPNM Students Sentenced To Death For Murdering Cadet Zulfarhan In 2017

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UPDATE: Key Facts In The Case Of Cadet Zulfarhan You Should Know

A three-member bench, consisting of Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, and Datuk Azmi Ariffin, unanimously decided to allow the prosecution's appeal to reinstate the charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code, setting aside the previous 18-year jail sentence, reported the New Straits Times.

In 2017, five of the six convicts were initially charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, while the other one was charged under Section 109 of the same law for abetting the murder.

However, in 2021, the High Court amended the charge to Section 304(a) of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and sentenced them to 18 years in prison.

In the proceedings today, 23 July, Hadhariah stated she agreed with the prosecution, noting that the crime committed by the six individuals "shocked not only the judicial conscience but also the collective conscience of society", reported The Star.

"This case is the rarest of the rare involving a heinous crime. Such cruelty must be stopped," she added.

Hadhariah spent three hours reading the 93-page judgment, before sentencing Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri, and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali to death.

The six convicts are now 28 years old.

Zulfarhan's parents, Zulkarnain Idros and Hawa Osman, were seen praying and crying outside the courtroom after the verdict was delivered. Watch their reaction here:

Deputy Public Prosecutor K Mangai argued that Zulfarhan endured 90 scald burns covering 80% of his body, describing the torture the convicts committed as an extreme act, reported FMT.

She also told the court that the scalding burns were the cause of death.

Zulfarhan died on 1 June 2017 after being tied up, beaten, and burnt with a steam iron for days.

The convicts tortured him on the pretext that he had stolen one of their laptops. However, the alleged stolen laptop was never found in Zulfarhan's possession.

Zulfarhan's death drew nationwide attention after it was revealed that many of his peers were involved in bullying and abusing him.

In addition to the six convicts sentenced to death for murder, 12 former UPNM students were also sentenced to three years in prison for intentionally causing injury to Zulfarhan to coerce a confession that he had stolen the laptop, reported The Star.