PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court here has affirmed a death sentence against a former police corporal for killing his stepdaughter nine years ago.
A three-judge panel led by Tan Sri Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal made the ruling after allowing the prosecution's appeal against a lower court decision that sentenced Muhammad Khairuanuar Baharuddin to 10 years' imprisonment for culpable homicide.
Other members of the bench were Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Hanipah Farikullah.
Khairuanuar was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code with the murder of two-year-old Hanis Amanda Mohd Zafil at a condominium in Section 5, Wangsa Maju, between 7 am and 7:30 pm on Nov 6, 2015.
On March 31, 2021, he was sentenced to death by the High Court, but the Court of Appeal later overturned the ruling, substituting the conviction with culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304(b) of the same Code.
He was then sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, starting from the date of arrest on Jan 9, 2018.
Dissatisfied with the appellate court's decision, the prosecution appealed to top court, challenging the reduction of the conviction.
The Apex Court ruled that the appellate court's decision was flawed, as premeditation or pre-existing malice are not required elements for a murder offense under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
"Failing to establish premeditation or pre-existing malice by the prosecution, does not justify a substitution of the conviction of murder.
"The absence of premeditation or malice in the present case will not reduce the offence of murder to the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
"The decision of the High Court is restored that Khairuanuar's conviction for the offence of murder is safe and thereby affirmed," the court said in its full ground of judgment dated Oct 29.
The court also dismissed Khairuanuar's appeal for an acquittal of the charge.
In considering the sentence, the court noted the recent amendments under the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023 and the submissions by both parties.
However, it deemed the murder of the victim, a child just two years and two months-old, to be an exceptional case, warranting the death sentence.
The court refrained from exercising its discretion to impose a prison sentence under the new Act, thereby maintaining the death penalty.
The incident attracted public interest, leading to the hashtag 'Justice For Amanda' on Facebook.