Six accused of murder plead not guilty
KUALA LUMPUR: Six university students accused of murdering and abetting in the murder of Malaysia National Defence University (UPNM) naval cadet Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain pleaded not guilty at the High Court here.
Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali, all 21, entered their plea before judge Datuk Azman Abdullah.
On June 14, the first five accused were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, which carries a mandatory death sentence, while Abdoul Hakeem was charged under Section 109 of the Penal Code for abetting.
They were accused of committing the offence in Room 04-10, Lodging Block, Jebat Hostel, UPNM, Kem Perdana, in Sungai Besi, between 4.45am and 5.45am on May 22.
The court fixed Nov 13 for mention.
Zulfarhan, a third-year student, died on June 1 at 9pm at Serdang Hospital. He was believed to be a victim of alleged bullying.
According to reports, Zulfarhan was taken to the hospital with injuries, including burns on his chest, hands and feet, believed to have been caused by a steam iron.
Deputy public prosecutors Othman Abdullah and Nur Akmal Farhan Aziz prosecuted, while the accused were represented by lawyers Mohd Fadhly Hashim, Nur Syuhada Abdullah, Zamri Idrus and Joshua Tay.