Appeals court upholds ex-college student's death sentence for lecturer's murder

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal here today upheld the death sentence on a former student of the Cybernetics International College of Technology for murdering his lecturer, four years ago.

A three-member bench chaired by Justice Datuk Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat dismissed Muhammad Safwan Mohamed's appeal to set aside his conviction and death sentence imposed by the Shah Alam High Court on Sept 29, last year.

The panel today which included Datuk Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid and Datuk Kamardin Hashim affirmed the high court's judgement that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt on the prosecution case.

Lawyer Azamuddin Abd Aziz represented Muhammad Safwan, 24, in the appeal while deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Sazilee Abdul Khairi acted for the prosecution.

On Oct 30, 2014, the Shah Alam High Court acquitted Muhammad Safwan without calling for his defence on the charge of murdering Zara Eleena Omar Peter and her father Omar Peter Abdullah.

But three others who were Muhammad Safwan's friends - Mohamad Zul Shahril Suhaimi, 24, Mohamad Sharafe Matt Noh, 23, and Azizi Aizat Ibrahim, 24, were found guilty and sentenced to death for the same charges.

On July 30, the Court of Appeal upheld Muhammad Safwan's acquittal on the charge of murdering Omar Peter, but ordered him to enter defence for the murder of Zara, an English lecturer at the college.

Mohamad Zul Shahril, Mohamad Sharafe and Azizi Aizat's appeals were rejected, and the Court of Appeal upheld the death sentences against them for the murder of the father and daughter.

The trio murdered Zara, 23, a person with disability, between 1.30am and 2.30am on March 9, 2012, and her father, Omar Peter, 56, a finance company retiree, between 11.30pm, March 8, 2012, and 1.30am the following day.

They committed the offences at No. 28, Jalan TK 1/11, Taman Kinrara, Puchong. — Bernama