PUTRAJAYA, Aug 21 — The Court of Appeal here today upheld the death sentence of a mechanic for the murder of his girlfriend five years ago.
A three-member bench comprising Datuk Yaacob Md Sam, Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and P. Ravinthran unanimously dismissed Mohd Afizi Abdul Rahman’s appeal against conviction and death sentence.
“We are of the view that the conviction is safe,” said Justice Yaacob who chaired the bench.
He said Mohd Afizi’s appeal did not have merits to warrant the appellate court’s intervention.
Mohd Afizi, 32, was initially charged for attempting to murder Saliza Saidin, her daughter Nur Airis Qaliesha Mohd Shahril who was two years old then and Saliza’s neighbour two-month-old daughter Nur Dia Syazana at a low-cost flat in Setapak Jaya, Sentul, Kuala Lumpur between 1 am and 1.30 am on Jan 21, 2014.
However, on Feb 18, 2014, he was charged for murdering Saliza, 29, who succumbed to severe burns on Feb 1, 2014, 11 days after receiving treatment in the Kuala Lumpur Hospital Burns Treatment Unit.
Mohd Afizi is currently serving 12 years’ jail for attempting to murder Nur Airis and Nur Dia after he pleaded guilty to the charges at the Sessions Court in 2014. He was ordered to serve the sentence from Jan 22, 2014, the date of his arrest.
According to the facts of the case, Mohd Afizi came to the deceased’s house on that day to ask her to go for food but she rejected. They had a quarrel and Mohd Afizi left the flat.
Saliza’s mother testified that she saw Mohd Afizi return to the flat and entered her daughter’s bedroom and she later saw the bedroom was on fire.
In her evidence, she said Saliza had asked to save the two children who were also in the room, while her daughter was crawling out of the room. The children were saved by Saliza’s mother who also doused the fire on her daughter’s body and they were subsequently sent to hospital.
Lawyer Affifudin Ahmad Afifi represented Mohd Afizi while deputy public prosecutor Tengku Intan Suraya Tengku Ismail appeared for the prosecution.
Mohd Afizi has one more tier of appeal that is to the Federal Court. — Bernama
