Tahfiz fire murder appeal: Youth to remain in detention at the pleasure of Yang di-Pertuan Agong

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court yesterday upheld the prison sentence on a 22-year-man who was ordered to be detained at the pleasure of the Yang diPertuan Agong after he was convicted of murdering 23 people in a fire at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah Tahfiz Centre in 2017.

A three-man bench comprising Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Federal Court judges Datuk Sri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim and Datuk Nordin Hassan unanimously dismissed the youth’s final appeal to overturn his conviction and jail sentence.

Justice Tengku Maimun said the court affirmed the conviction and prison sentence imposed by the High Court on the man.

On the totality of evidence, the conviction against him for the offence is safe, she said.

She said High Court Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah (now Court of Appeal judge) made a finding regarding the credibility of witnesses, particularly the two child witnesses (SP 68 and SP 69), and also found the circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution was sufficient to convict the youth for the offence.

“We find there is no compelling reason for us to disturb those findings,” said Justice Tengku Maimun.

On the issue raised by lawyer Haijan Omar, representing the youth, that his client’s defence of alibi had raised a reasonable doubt on the prosecution’s case, Justice Tengku Maimun said the law is clear that where there is no ill motive, the defence of alibi cannot prevail overidentification.

She also said that in this case, the ill motives of sp 68 and sp 69 were not shown.

The witness, who was 14 years old at the time he testified, had given evidence in the trial at the High Court that he heard the youth asking when to set fire to the tahfiz centre, she said, adding that the other witness, who was 15-years-old when he testified, saw the youth climb the fence of the tahfiz centre and enter the tahfiz area with another individual.

The youth had produced an alibi notice before the commencement of the trial stating that he could not be inside the tahfiz centre as he was outside the centre smoking ganja, but his defence of alibi was rejected by the High Court.

On Aug 17, 2020, the High Court found the youth guilty of the murder offence and ordered that he be detained at the pleasure of the Yang-diPertuan Agong. He was 16 years old when he committed the offence.

Section 97(1) of the Child Act 2001 stipulates that a death sentence shall not be pronounced or recorded against a person convicted of an offence if the child is under the age of 18, and in lieu of the death sentence, as provided under Section 97 (2) of the same law, the court shall order the person to be detained at the pleasure of the Yang diPertuan Agong.

The youth lost his appeal which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Sept 11, last year.

The High Court had also acquitted another 22-year-old youth for the murder offence.

The prosecution appealed against the acquittal, but was dismissed by the Court of Appeal and did not appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision to the Federal Court.

Earlier, Haijan argued that his client’s conviction for the murder could not stand as the circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution was not enough to convict the youth.

Deputy public prosecutor How May Ling argued that a prosecution witness saw the youth climb the fence of the tahfiz centre and enter the centre.

She said the youth’s defence of alibi could not prevail over positive identification and that SP 68 and SP 69 did not have the motive to implicate the youth. — Bernama