PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court here upheld the 35-year jail sentence on a former contractor for the murder of six-year-old Muhammad Rayyan Hidayat Hairil Khan in Perlis in 2018.
A three-man bench comprising Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal and Datuk Nordin Hassan on Thursday (Feb 6) also upheld the 12 strokes of the cane imposed on Noraizuwan Hamali.
The panel dismissed Noraizuwan’s appeal against his murder conviction and jail sentence.
Delivering the court’s decision, Justice Abang Iskandar said it didn't dispute that the prosecution case against Noraizuwan was premised on circumstantial evidence.
He, however, said the court found that Noraizuwan had failed to raise a reasonable doubt against the prosecution’s case.
Noraizuwan, 32, was initially convicted and sentenced to death by the High Court in 2022 for killing Rayyan, the son of his then-girlfriend, at a house in Kampung Jejawi, Kangar, Perlis, between 3.45pm on April 18, 2018, and 12.10am the following day.
In April last year, the Appellate Court affirmed his conviction but set aside his death sentence and replaced it with 35 years' jail from the date of his arrest on April 19, 2018, and 12 strokes of the cane.
On Thursday, in the Federal Court, Noraizuwan’s lawyer, Burhanudeen Abdul Wahid, argued that a 28-minute gap existed during which the deceased was left alone in the house while Noraizuwan went to pick up the child's mother from her workplace. He contended that this created a possibility for someone else to have been responsible for the crime.
He urged the court to set aside Noraizuwan’s murder conviction, stating that there was no evidence to suggest he (Noraizuwan) caused the injuries that led to the child’s death. Alternatively, he requested that Noraizuwan be convicted under Section 31 of the Child Act 2001 for child neglect.
Deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Roshan Karthi Kayan, who was assisted by DPP Zander Lim Wai Keong, argued that the High Court had already concluded that Noraizuwan’s defence - claiming the child’s fatal injuries were caused by the deceased falling in the playground and bathroom - was unsubstantiated.
He further contended that no one else was in the house between 3.45pm and 11.50pm on the day of the incident, other than Noraizuwan and the deceased. He also said the deceased’s mother had confirmed that there was only one house key, which was in Noraizuwan’s possession.
The prosecution did not appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision to commute Noraizuwan’s death sentence to imprisonment term.- Bernama
