Judges dismiss appeal by four convicted of manslaughter

PUTRAJAYA: The four men convicted of manslaughter and abetment in the Hasleza Ishak case can count themselves lucky that they were not convicted of murder, the Court of Appeal said. 

Justice Gopal Sri Ram said the appellate court would have convicted them of murder based on the material evidence presented during the trial if there had been a cross-appeal by the prosecution. 

“Under these circumstances where an innocent life has been lost, it would be an insult to the judicial system if we were to consider a reduction in sentence,” he said. 

APPEAL DENIED: Tengku Aristonjah being led out of the court after the judges dismissed his appeal against his conviction and sentence.

Justice Sri Ram, who sat with Justices Hashim Mohd Yusoff and Tengku Baharudin Shah Tengku Mahmud, made the observation when they dismissed the appeals against the 20-year jail sentences of the four men in the killing of Hasleza, 26, the Perak Raja di-Hilir’s second wife. 

The four are carpenter Sabarudin Non, fisherman J. Manimaran, bomoh Rahim Ismail and Tengku Aristonsjah Tengku Ansary, the nephew of the Perak Raja di-Hilir’s first wife, Raja Nor Mahani Raja Shahar Shah.  

Hasleza: The deceased was the second wife of Perak's Raja di-Hilir.

On Apr 25 last year, High Court judge Justice Mohd Noor Abdullah found Sabarudin and Manimaran guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to the murder of Hasleza, in Jalan Sumpitan Ijok, Lenggong, Perak on Oct 6, 2002. 

Rahim and Tengku Aristonsjah were guilty of abetting them. 

They were originally charged with padi farmer Mat Saad Isa, who pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter. He was jailed 14 years. 

Justice Sri Ram said the appellate court agreed entirely with Justice Mohd Noor that the 20-year jail sentence was not excessive. 

“This is not a case of mere coincidence. These accused are liable because they had done what they did with the full knowledge of the implications of their acts,” he said. 

He said the appellate judges also agreed with DPP Azmi Ariffin that the entire crime would have not resulted if not for Rahim and Tengku Aristonsjah’s planning. 

“We agree that they were the masterminds both to the commission of the crime and having it perpetrated,” he said. 

Justice Sri Ram said the appellate judges agreed with the trial judge’s finding that the defence of innocent association by the four men failed to create a reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case. 

GOING TO JAIL: Bomoh Rahim (left) being consoled by a relative after his appeal was rejected.

The trial judge was correct in finding that the prosecution’s main witness, Mat Saad, was a credible witness and his evidence was well corroborated, he added. 

He said among the items of evidence, which supported Mat Saad’s credibility included his breaking of Hasleza’s car window that was revealed during examination of the car and the throwing of the body into a ravine where it was found several days after she was killed. 

“Mat Saad was not a self-serving and exculpatory accomplice as he fully implicated himself and made a clean breast of his own illegal acts,” he said. 

Sabaruddin (left) and Manimaran: The judges upheld the High Court's decision to convict them of manslaughter.

On the common intention of Sabarudin and Manimaran to commit the offence, Justice Sri Ram said the two men, who were present and participated in Hasleza’s abduction, did not lift a finger to rescue her but instead assisted Mat Saad in the disposal of her body. 

On the common intention of Rahim and Tengku Aristonsjah, he said the appellate judges could not agree with the defence that presence and participation were required. 

He said Section 34 of the Penal Code, which provides that if more than two persons intentionally commit an offence it would be the same if each had done it individually, should be interpreted having regard to modern technological advances. 

“By means of the cell phone and other conversations, they (Rahim and Tengku Aristonsjah) were very much constructively present and participated in the killing of the deceased (Hasleza),” he said.