Murder At Lahad Datu Vocational College: 13 Students Found Guilty

TAWAU, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- The High Court here today found the 13 male students of Lahad Datu Vocational College who were jointly charged with causing the death of fellow student Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan, 17, last year, guilty of the offence.

Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol ruled the teenagers guilty under Section 302 of the Penal Code after finding the prosecution had proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, he fixed Aug 28 for the sentencing, pending their behavioural reports from the Lahad Datu Social Welfare Department as required under Section 90(12) of the Child Act 2001.

"At the close of the defence, it is clear that the explanations offered, ranging from total denial, alibi, partial admission, and shifting blame to a non-accused student, are either inconsistent with the evidence, contradicted by independent witnesses, or inherently improbable.

"Based on the evaluation of the evidence as a whole, the court is satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the 13 accused, acting in concert and sharing a common intention, caused the death of the deceased in circumstances that fall within Section 300(c). The prosecution has discharged its burden," Judge Duncan said in his summary judgment.

He said the suggestion by the defence that the accused merely intended to teach the deceased a lesson and did not know the injuries would, in the ordinary course of nature, cause death and therefore fall under Section 299 of the Penal Code, is equally without basis.

He said under Section 300(c) of the Penal Code, the question was not whether there was an intention to kill, but whether bodily injuries were intentionally inflicted that were sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death.

“The medical evidence clearly established that they were. The defence of provocation is also untenable. This was not a sudden loss of self-control but a prolonged and repeated assault," he added.

Judge Duncan also dismissed a suggestion by the defence that Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat might have survived if he had been given immediate medical attention, on the basis that expert testimonies did not confirm this as a certainty, but only a possibility.

"The fifth prosecution witness, Dr Dzureena Abdul Multalib, did acknowledge during cross-examination that survival was a possibility, if the deceased had received timely and aggressive medical treatment.

"Her evidence as a pathologist, in my view, went no further than suggesting a possibility, not a probability and certainty. For these reasons, the court finds that the fatal assault was the product of a shared common intention and the defences advanced are without merit," he said.

The prosecution team comprised deputy public prosecutors Nur Nisla Abdul Latif, Ng Juhn Tao and Batrisyia Mohd Khusri.

Eight of the 13 teenagers were represented by lawyers Datuk Ram Singh, Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki and Chen Wen Jye, while the other five were represented by lawyers Mohamed Zairi Zainal Abidin, Abdul Ghani Zelika, Vivian Thien, Jhesseny P Kang and Kusni Ambotuwo.

On Feb 28, Duncan ordered the 13 teenagers to enter their defence on the charge of murdering Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat, 17, in the dormitory rooms 7 Resak and 5 Belian at the Lahad Datu Vocational College, between 9 pm on March 21 and 7.38 am on March 22, 2024.

They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, read together with Section 34 of the same Code, which carries the death penalty, or up to 40 years' imprisonment and not more than 12 strokes of the cane, if convicted.

The defence proceedings began on March 10, with 18 witnesses, including all 13 accused, called to testify.

The prosecution had earlier opened its case on Nov 19 last year, calling 25 witnesses, including students and teachers from the vocational college.

-- BERNAMA