Federal Court judges unanimous in decision that High Court was right in finding the son of a businessman with a Datuk title guilty of murdering a Universiti Utara Malaysia graduate 12 years ago.
- Stalked victim while she was jogging, raped her, dumped body in housing estate
- Skipped bail and fled to Perth
- Obtained PR status, helped family run meteorite and opal business
- Re-arrested when returned to Malaysia 6 years later
- Claimed victim was a prostitute, that he paid to have sex with her
- Accused believed to be a drug addict
The Federal Court today upheld the death sentence of Shahril Jaafar for the murder of Chee Gaik Yap near Kelab Cinta Sayang, Taman Ria Jaya, Sungai Petani, at between 5.30pm on Jan 14 and 3.05am on Jan 15, 2006.
“We are unanimous in our decision.
“Based on the circumstantial evidence, we found that the accused is the person responsible for the deceased’s death,” Chief Justice Raus Sharif said in delivering the apex court’s decision.
Other judges in the panel were Hasan Lah, Zaharah Ibrahim, Jeffrey Tan and Alizatul Khair Osman Khairuddin.
Shahril, 37, merely nodded when the court delivered its decision.
In 2015, the Alor Setar High Court sentenced Shahril to death for murdering Gaik Yap, a snack food marketing executive.
The 25-year-old was believed to have been stalked by her assailant while jogging in the neighbourhood, raped and her body dumped in a housing estate.
Shahril was picked up soon after Gaik Yap’s body was found but released on police bail while awaiting the results of a DNA test.
He later skipped bail and went to Perth, Australia, where he obtained permanent resident status.
He was re-arrested six years later when he arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport from Perth in January 2012.
In June 2014, the High Court acquitted him as the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case.
However, in November that year, the Court of Appeal set aside the High Court’s decision and ordered Shahril to enter his defence.
He gave an unsworn statement from the dock where prosecutors could not cross-examine him.
He told the court he met Gaik Yap for the purpose of having consensual sex and paid RM350 to an individual called ‘Wayne’ for sexual services from her.
He also told the High Court that they had sex in his car and that victim was still alive when they parted ways.
Shahril had denied he was involved in her death and said he did not flee to Australia while police investigated the case.
In 2015, when the suspect received the death sentence, Gaik Yap’s father Chee Ah Sau said that his daughter would have been working in Germany if she had been alive.
The 60-year-old labourer had also spoken then of how his family had been distraught for the 10 years they had to wait for justice to be served on her killer.
Judicial Commissioner Datuk Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab allowed a request by counsel Ramkarpal Singh, who was holding a watching brief for Gaik Yap’s family, for Ah Sau’s impact statement to be recorded by the High Court after Shahril was sentenced to death.
“The accused claimed that my daughter was a prostitute. She was a graduate,” Ah Sau said in the impact statement.
It was previously reported that Shahril was married with a child.
“The problems in his life were caused by drug abuse.
“He regrets and sympathises with what the victim’s family had to endure,” his counsel Shamsul Sulaiman said.
It was believed that Shahril’s father owned a meteorite and opal company, and he frequently travelled between his two homes in Perth and Sungai Petani.
It was said that Sharil, third among four siblings, was working for his father’s company when he was in Perth.
His elder sister and brother, as well as younger sister, are believed to be also helping their parents run their business.