Gallows for five vigilantes

KUALA LUMPUR: Five men were told off by the High Court for taking vigilantism for justice, and were sentenced to death over the fatal beating of a suspected robber.

Judicial Commissioner Mohamad Shariff Abu Samah convicted the men, saying that by taking justice into their own hands, they had forgotten the sanctity of the law.

The five – security guard M. Yogesvaran, 24, army officers Mohamad Hairul Abdullah and Lawrence anak Masing, both 34, self-employed Zaidi Zainal, 31, and supervisor Chong Kai Weng, 31 – were found guilty of murdering 26-year-old Mohd Yusof Abd Khalib.

“Even if the victim was a robber, the correct measure was to make him face justice, not to act on your own accord like a tiger mauling its prey,” JC Mohamad Shariff said, reading a 245-page written judgment.

The victim was beaten outside the V-Club Snooker club in Taman Intan Baiduri here at 8.30pm on May 1, 2016.

He was taken to hospital but died the next day.

A post-mortem by expert witness Dr Siew Sheue Feng listed 93 injuries, including fatal blunt force trauma to the head, bleeding in the brain, damage to the spine, as well as cuts and bruises all over the body.

JC Mohamad Shariff found their claim of making a citizen’s arrest with the intent of handing the supposed robber over to the police “pure fiction”.

He questioned the fact that they did not call the police, adding that as army officers, the accused should know better.

The three main grounds for the conviction were that the five men’s identities were confirmed during an identity parade, which was backed by CCTV footage, along with eyewitness testimony that they had dragged the beaten victim into a car.

JC Mohamad Shariff sentenced the five to death by hanging as per Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death sentence.

Gasps and sobs could be heard from the public gallery when family members who attended the proceedings heard the judgment.

The accused were represented by counsel M. Jagesh, while deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Nazneen Zulkifli prosecuted.

The defence called eight witnesses, including the accused, while the prosecution had 17 witnesses.

The matter will automatically be appealed as it carries the death sentence.