KOTA KINABALU: The Tawau High Court has sentenced one of the 13 Lahad Datu Vocational College students, who were found guilty for the murder of their college mate, to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane.
Justice Duncan Sikodol also ordered that the other accused, all juveniles, be detained for a period of time at the pleasure of the Sabah Yang di-Pertua Negeri.
On Aug 22, Justice Sikodol found all 13 guilty over the death of their hostel mate and had fixed sentencing for yesterday pending reports of the Lahad Datu Social Welfare Department.
The 13 students, aged between 16 and 19, were jointly charged with murdering Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan, 17, between 9pm on March 21 and 7.38am on March 22 last year at the college.
In delivering his judgment last week, Justice Sikodol said the medical evidence showed injuries inflicted on the victim were severe enough to cause death.
During the trial, the defence counsel argued that the accused did not intend to kill the victim but wanted to teach him a lesson as they thought he had stolen from one of them.
Their argument of provocation was deemed inapplicable by the court as the attack on the victim was repeated and prolonged.
Justice Sikodol also dismissed the defence’s suggestion that Nazmie Aizzat might have survived if he had been given immediate medical attention.
He said expert testimonies did not confirm this as a certainty, only it was a possibility.
The 13 accused were initially charged at the Lahad Datu Magistrate’s Court on April 2, 2024, before the case was transferred to the High Court.
They pleaded not guilty when they were charged on Aug 13 in the High Court last year.
A total of 18 witnesses were called to testify throughout the trial, which began last November.
Nazmie Aizzat was found unconscious on the floor of a dormitory in the college at 6.50am on March 22, 2024.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by a medical team.
