KUALA LUMPUR: Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain's tragic death in 2017, following brutal acts of torture resulting in severe burns covering 80 percent of his body, stemmed from a laptop theft accusation by university mate, Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal.
In a 93-page judgment delivered yesterday, the Court of Appeal detailed how Zulfarhan was subjected to beatings, kicks, punches, and had a hot steam iron repeatedly pressed onto his body in an attempt to coerce a confession.
However, up to his death on June 1 that year, ten days after he was tortured on May 21 and 22, Zulfarhan did not admit to taking Akmal Zuhairi's laptop.
Zulfarhan had 90 burn wounds on the front and back of his body, on both his hands and legs as well as his private parts - covering about 80 per cent of his body surface.
Of the 90 burn wounds, 59 were second degree and 29 were third degree, and its patterns were caused by the iron being held upright.
When Akmal Zuhairi's claims of his stolen laptop got out, an accused said his father had the ability to find lost items using traditional medical practices.
After holding a prayer session, the father had a premonition that Zulfarhan had taken the laptop.
This angered Akmal Zuhairi as the laptop was newly purchased and he had told a prosecution witness that he had intended to beat Zulfarhan.
For an hour from 4.45am on May 22, the accused took turns to press the iron on Zulfarhan's body and stopped their acts when they heard the call of prayers.
One of the accused, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri, justified the violence as a cultural norm at UPNM, and said allegations of theft among cadets often led to physical interrogations.
Following the tortures, the sickly Zulfarhan was confined in a locked room for several days, closely monitored to prevent university authorities from discovering his condition. The perpetrators opted to self-treat his wounds out of fear of expulsion or being given the corporal punishment.
A prosecution witness who took pity on Zulfarhan wrote a poison pen letter, asking for him to be saved.
The letter was slipped infront at Rumah Sakit Angkatan Tentera (Tuanku Mizan Military Hospital) on May 25.
Unfortunately, it was not acted upon but it went viral which led the accused moving Zulfarhan to another room to avoid being located.
On May 24, several accused brought Zulfarhan to Klinik As-Salam in Bangi where Dr Azfar Hussin, upon seeing the wounds, wrote a referral letter for him to be treated at the then Serdang Hospital.
They had only asked for Zulfarhan's wounds to be dressed and had said there had been an explosion while training in Port Dickson.
On May 31, Zulfarhan was again brought to Dr Azfar who noticed liquid oozing from wounds on his stomach.
He said he noticed Zulfarhan had to asked for his friend's help to move and that he was dehydrated and had vomited several times.
Zulfarhan was never brought to the hospital despite Dr Azfar's second referral letter.
On July 1 at a unit in Apartment De Centrum, Zulfarhan became stiff after dinner and he was brought to hospital and declared dead at 9.25pm.
Yesterday, the CoA sentenced six former UPNM cadets to death for the murder of navy cadet Zulfarhan in a case described as the "rarest of the rare".
The six are Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali, who are now 28 years old.
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.
The court also set aside the previous 18-year jail sentence.
On Nov 2, 2021, High Court judge Datuk Azman Abdullah sentenced all six to 18 years in jail after finding them guilty of causing Zulfarhan's death without intent, under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code.
The former students, who were then 21, had committed the offence at Jebat Hostel Block, UPNM, between 2.30am and 5.30am on May 21, 2017, and in the same room between 1.30am and 4.30am on May 22, the same year.
Twelve other UPNM students had their jail term raised from three to four years for intentionally causing injury to Zulfarhan to extort a confession that he stole a laptop.