PUTRAJAYA: On Tuesday (Oct 8), the Federal Court upheld the death sentences for a former lawyer and a plantation worker for the murder of cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and her three aides, committed 14 years ago, Malay language daily Sinar Harian reports.
A three-judge panel, led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, unanimously rejected the appeals of the applicants, N. Pathmanabhan, 54, and T. Thilaiyalagan, 32, to overturn their death sentences.
Meanwhile, another plantation worker, R. Kathavarayan, 44, who had also been sentenced to death, withdrew his application for a review of the death sentence, resulting in his sentence being upheld by the Federal Court.
"The application is denied, the death sentence is upheld," declared Tengku Maimun, sitting alongside Judges Nordin Hassan and Abu Bakar Jais.
During the prosecution, Deputy Public Prosecutors Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar and Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi represented the state, while the applicants were represented by lawyers Amer Hamzah Arshad, Joshua Tay H'ng Foong, and Manjeet Singh Dhillon.
On May 23, 2013, the Shah Alam High Court sentenced all the appellants to death after finding them guilty of murdering Sosilawati, 47; bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, 38; lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32; and Sosilawati's aide, Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44.
They were found guilty of committing the crime at Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjong Layang, Tanjung Sepat, in Banting, Selangor, between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30, 2010.
On Dec 4, 2015, Pathmanabhan, R. Matan, Thilaiyalagan, and Kathavarayan failed in their appeals at the Court of Appeal.
Two years later, on March 16, 2017, Pathmanabhan, Thilaiyalagan, and Kathavarayan remained on death row after their appeals were again rejected, although R. Matan, 33, was successful in his appeal and the panel of five judges allowed his release.
