A man convicted of killing his friend and living with the corpse for four days in August 2018 has failed in his final bid to overturn the conviction at the Federal Court.
A three-judge panel chaired by Justice Nallini Pathmanathan today unanimously upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision to sentence Azhud Ibrahim, 34, to 30 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane.
“Counsel submitted that there was no prima facie case, but we find (there is) sufficient circumstantial evidence as outlined by the prosecution.
“The appeal is therefore dismissed,” said Nallini, who sat on the panel with Justices Nordin Hassan and Hanipah Farikullah.
Earlier, the appellant’s counsel Gurbachan Singh argued that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case that would warrant a conviction.
“There was no eyewitness at all, no DNA evidence linking the accused to the murder, and no admission that he inflicted injuries on the deceased,” he said.
Deputy public prosecutor Fairuz Johari conceded that there was no direct evidence or eyewitness but maintained that the circumstantial evidence adduced by the prosecution was sufficient to establish a prima facie case.
He said the matter had been deliberated at length by both the High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Fairuz said one of the key pieces of evidence was the statement the appellant made to his friend, the ninth prosecution witness, who had gone to the main door of the house and saw a motionless body.
On Feb 21, 2023, the High Court convicted Azhud of murdering Azam Ahmad, 43, at a house in Lorong Mohd Ali, Kampung Bahagia, Teluk Intan, Perak, at around 12.10am on Aug 10, 2018.
On April 29 last year, the Court of Appeal substituted the death sentence with 30 years’ imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane.
According to the facts of the case, the witness had gone to the house to buy a handphone from the appellant but noticed a foul smell.
He testified that he asked the appellant about the smell and was told there was a dead body.
The witness then peeked through the door and saw a body that had already blackened. At the same time, the appellant told him: “Aku bengang dah lama dengan dia ni. Aku runsing.” (I’ve been angry with him for a long time. I’m worried.)
The friend later lodged a police report at the Teluk Intan police station.
During the High Court trial, the appellant claimed that a few days prior, the deceased had entered his house without permission and attempted to assault him.
He testified that he had acted in self-defence during a scuffle with the deceased whom he described as aggressive.
After the fight, he said the deceased appeared exhausted and weak, sitting on the floor.
The appellant claimed he went out to buy food, and upon returning, invited the deceased to eat but the latter only wanted a drink.
He said he later consumed cannabis and fell asleep for two days. When he awoke, he found the deceased lying motionless on the floor.
He allegedly planned to bury the body behind the house but said he could not bring himself to do it and instead decided to keep the body.
A post-mortem report revealed that the deceased sustained 23 injuries, including trauma to the head and chest. The report concluded that he died from multiple blunt force injuries.
