The High Court today ordered 18 students of the Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) to enter their defence on charges of murdering and injuring their varsity mate, cadet officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain, two years ago.
Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah reached the decision after concluding that the prosecution had successfully established a prima facie case against the 18 accused.
Five accused, Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat and Mohamad Shobirin Sabri are charged with murder while Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali is charged with abetting the murder of Zulfarhan Osman.
They allegedly committed the offence at room 04-10, of the Jebat hostel building in UPNM, between 4.45am and 5.45am on May 22, 2017.
The charges against the accused were made under Section 302 and 109 of the Penal Code, which carry the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
The six, all aged 23, along with 12 other accused were also charged with voluntarily causing hurt to extort a confession from the victim, under Section 330 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same code, which carries a maximum seven years’ jail and a fine upon conviction.
Upon hearing the judge’s ruling, a distinctive and decidedly audible sigh of relief from the victim’s parents, Zulkarnain Idros and Hawa Osman, who came from Johor to attend the proceeding.
There was a look of satisfaction on their faces when Azman meted out the judgement against the accused.
“Alhamdulillah” (praised to god) can be heard from their stand as the judgement was made.
The duo arrived as early as 7am with their family members for the decision at the end of the prosecution’s case today.
They sat calmly in the public gallery together with the accused’s family members, who were also present to wait for the much-anticipated decision against the accused at the High Court.
Zulkarnain was later seen on bended knees and bowed in gratitude before bursting into tears outside the courtroom.
When approached, the 55-year-old father said he was happy with the decision.
“I would like to say thank you to all people who pray for my son’s justice,” he said.
Zulfarhan’s mother, Hawa, 56, said she hoped that a fair punishment would be handed down to those who committed the crime.
“I still heard his voice at night and we really miss his presence especially during Hari Raya.
“We waited almost two years for this,” she said.
One of the accused, Muhammad Akmal Akif Alias, was acquitted and discharged from voluntarily causing grievous hurt to Zulfarhan.
Akmal, clad in a blue blazer, said he had been victimised during the incident.
“I would like to continue my studies which had been halted due to this incident,” he said.
The court fixed Oct 2 for defence’s trial to commence.