PUTRAJAYA: A former poultry trader was sentenced to death by the Court of Appeal today for the murder of a single mother who had rejected his marriage proposal.
A three-member bench, comprising Justices Datuk Azmi Ariffin, Datuk Noorin Badaruddin and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, allowed the prosecution’s cross-appeal to impose the death penalty on Mohd Nur Hussein Mohd Salleh.
In allowing the prosecution’s cross-appeal, the court overturned the High Court’s earlier sentence of 38 years in prison and 20 strokes of the cane imposed on Mohd Nur Hussein.
Justice Noorin, who read out the court’s decision, said the court found that Mohd Nur Hussein had meticulously planned the murder of the woman who was murdered simply because he “bertepuk sebelah tangan” (his love was unreciprocated).
She said Mohd Nur Hussein had not only committed a brutal act, noting that the victim’s injuries were consistent with those from a slaughter, and there was evidence indicating he had also attempted to set fire to the room where the woman’s body was found.
The judge further said Mohd Nur Hussein had also planned to avoid being implicated by going to a cyber cafe to log in and out during the time of the crime. However, she said some witnesses testified that they saw him near the victim’s house during the time of the incident.
“The appellant had entered the victim’s house early in the morning and stabbed her eight times, causing a severed vein in the neck.
“This is a clear case of blatant disregard for human life. We agree that there is no remorse on the part of the appellant for committing such a crime. Additionally, he took valuable items belonging to both the victim and the victim’s child and hid them,” she said.
The court also dismissed Mohd Nur Hussein’s appeal against his conviction, ruling that based on the circumstantial evidence adduced by the prosecution, it was sufficient to show that he committed the murder.
Mohd Nur Hussein, 42, was found guilty by the High Court on Sept 8, 2023, for murdering Hamidah Abdul Rahman, 53, a shop assistant, at a house in Taman Datuk Liew Yan Sip, Ipoh, Perak, between 3 am and 5 am on March 13, 2017.
According to the facts of the case, the victim had known Mohd Nur Hussein several years before the incident. They were friends and often went out together. The accused had once proposed marriage to her, but she rejected it as she was 20 years his senior. Two months before the incident, the woman got engaged to a retired policeman.
In his submission, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari had called for the death penalty, citing the gruesome nature of the crime and the motive of jealousy described as “aku tak dapat, orang lain tak dapat” (if I can’t have her, no one else can).
Mohd Nur Hussein’s lawyer, Mohamad Hafiz Jalaludin, argued that there was no evidence from a prosecution witness — who was the deceased’s neighbour — to prove that the accused had entered the victim’s house or met her.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
