TAWAU: The defence lawyers for 13 former Lahad Datu Vocational College students convicted of murdering their fellow student, Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan will be filing an appeal against the verdict at the Court of Appeal.
Defence counsel Kamarudin Mohd Chinki, who represented eight of the 13 accused, said when met that the defence respected the decision handed down by the High Court judge today, but would be filing the appeal within the 14-day period set by the court.
He said among the grounds of appeal was that the juvenile offenders were convicted collectively based on “common intention” rather than “per charge per se,” despite the differing involvement of each of the juveniles.
Meanwhile, lawyer Mohd Zairie Zainal Abidin, representing one of the accused, said there were several issues to be raised, particularly why his client should not have been found guilty of murder with common intention along with the other offenders.
He said the main issue overlooked by the court was the question of common intention, as his client’s actions were carried out individually, making it unreasonable to conclude that there was a shared intent to inflict injuries capable of causing death.
“The learned judge also failed to consider witness testimony stating that they did not see our client strike the deceased at the parts of the body that led to his death.
“The testimonies in this case were also largely illogical, for example, a witness claimed to have seen the incident but at the same time admitted to playing on their phone,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that bullying cases were currently a very sensitive matter and urged all parties not to be biased and to examine all facts and evidence in detail.
“The fate of our clients must also be considered. We therefore hope that these issues will be given more weight during the appeal process,” he said.
Earlier today, Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol sentenced a 20-year-old former Lahad Datu Vocational College student to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane after finding him guilty of murdering Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat in March last year.
He also ordered that 12 other underage offenders be imprisoned at the pleasure of the Sabah Yang di-Pertua Negeri for the same offence.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
