End of a chapter: Zulkarnain (right) and Hawa (left) leaving the Federal Court in Putrajaya. — Bernama
PUTRAJAYA: As their quest for justice for their son ended with the six men convicted of his death being spared the gallows, the late Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain’s family could only accept the final verdict with stoicism of a tragedy that has left a permanent scar.
Zulfarhan’s mother Hawa Osman, 62, appeared glum after the Federal Court delivered its decision that set aside the death sentence imposed on the six former cadets of the National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM).
Hawa, who sat at the public gallery, was seen with her hands together in a doa (prayer) as the decision was read out.
For the mother-of-four, the decision was upsetting but something she had to accept.
“All the decisions that were made by the Federal Court (judges), we must redha (accept).
“Accept the decision that was made. They (the judges) are more learned about the law. That’s all I can say,” Hawa said when met outside of the courtroom here yesterday.
For years, as the trial took place, Hawa and her husband, Zulkarnain Idros, 61, had been faithfully attending the proceedings to seek justice for their son.
The family even came in matching T-shirts with words such as #justice4farhan and #saynotobully.
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When asked how she would react if the six convicted men came to see her after the end of their incarceration, Hawa said she could only tell them to seek forgiveness from Zulfarhan.
“If they come to see me, what can I do? If they want to apologise, they apologise to Zulfarhan.
“If they apologise to me, even if I forgive them, Zulfarhan is here no more,” she said.
Meanwhile, Zulkarnain said that it was better for the men not to come see him after they had served their time in prison.
“It is better (for them) not to come. Old wounds may bleed.
“This wound is healed but the scar is still there,” he said.
Earlier, a three-judge panel of the Federal Court set aside the death sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal on six former cadets, who had been found guilty of fellow cadet Zulfarhan’s death in June 2017.
The panel, chaired by Chief Judge of Malaya Justice Hasnah Mohamed Hashim, then reinstated the decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in 2021 that meted out a 18-year prison term.
Other judges on the panel were Federal Court judges Justices Nordin Hassan and Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil.
