KUALA LUMPUR: A resurfaced video of six former Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) students smiling after a court session has gone viral.
This follows the Court of Appeal's decision yesterday to overturn their prison sentences and impose the death penalty for the murder of Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain.
The video, which shows the accused appearing relieved after escaping the death penalty, contrasts sharply with their new sentencing.
The six – Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri, and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali – were originally sentenced to prison, but their sentences were recently overturned.
In their ruling, the Court of Appeal deemed the case "rarest of the rare" and imposed the death penalty, reinstating the charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
A three-member bench comprising Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Mohamed Zaini Mazlan, and Datuk Azmi Ariffin unanimously allowed the prosecution's appeal to reinstate a charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code and impose the death penalty on the six former students.
The six, who were 21 at the time of the crime, committed the murder at UPNM's Jebat Hostel Block between May 21 and 22, 2017.
Zulfarhan, found with severe injuries on June 1, 2017, was pronounced dead later that day.