PUTRAJAYA: A former poultry trader has been sentenced to death by the Court of Appeal here for murdering a single mother who rejected his marriage proposal.
A three-member bench, comprising Justices Datuk Azmi Ariffin, Datuk Noorin Badaruddin and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, allowed the prosecution’s cross-appeal on Tuesday (Nov 4) to impose the death penalty on Mohd Nur Hussein Mohd Salleh.
The court overturned the High Court's earlier sentence of 38 years in prison and 20 strokes of the cane imposed on Nur Hussein.
Justice Noorin, who read out the court’s decision, said the bench had found that Nur Hussein meticulously planned the murder of the woman simply because his feelings for her were not reciprocated.
She said Nur Hussein had committed a brutal act, noting that the victim’s injuries were consistent with slaughter, and there was evidence indicating he had also attempted to set fire to the room where the woman’s body was found.
The judge further said Nur Hussein planned to avoid being implicated by going to a cybercafe to log in and out during the time of the crime.
However, she said some witnesses testified that they saw him near the victim’s house at the time of the incident.
"The appellant had entered the victim’s house early in the morning and stabbed her eight times, severing a vein in her neck.
"This is a clear case of blatant disregard for human life. We agree that there is no remorse on the part of the appellant for committing such a crime.
"Additionally, he took valuable items belonging to both the victim and the victim’s child and hid them," she said.
The court also dismissed Nur Hussein’s appeal against his conviction, ruling that based on the circumstantial evidence adduced by the prosecution, it was sufficient to show that he committed the murder.
Nur Hussein, 42, was found guilty by the High Court on Sept 8, 2023, of murdering shop assistant Hamidah Abdul Rahman, 53, at a house in Taman Datuk Liew Yan Sip, Ipoh, Perak, between 3am and 5am on March 13, 2017.
According to the facts of the case, the victim had known Nur Hussein for several years before the incident.
They were friends and often went out together. The accused had once proposed marriage to her, but she rejected it as she was 20 years his senior.
Two months before the incident, the woman got engaged to a retired policeman.
In his submission, deputy public prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari had called for the death penalty, citing the gruesome nature of the crime and the motive of jealousy described as "aku tak dapat, orang lain tak dapat” (if I can’t have her, no one else can).
Nur Hussein’s lawyer, Mohamad Hafiz Jalaludin, argued that there was no evidence from a prosecution witness, the neighbour of the deceased, to prove that his client had entered the victim's house or met with her. – Bernama
