KLANG: The High Court has sentenced a 23-year-old man to 32 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane after finding him guilty of murdering his girlfriend.
Judge Norliza Othman handed down the sentence after ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt against Amirul Amin Amirruddin, 23, at the end of the defence case.
The sentence is to take effect from the date of his arrest on Aug 24, 2022.
Amirul Amin was charged with murdering Nurul Shahira Abdullah, 24, at a house in Kampung Sri Pandan, Klang, at 7.18pm on Aug 24, 2022.
The charge, under Section 302 of the Penal Code, carries a prison term of up to 40 years and, if the death penalty is not imposed, not fewer than 12 strokes of the cane.
Reading her grounds of judgment, Norliza said the post-mortem examination found that the victim died from suffocation caused by a pillow, a finding confirmed by the prosecution's forensic pathologist.
She said the accused admitted during cross-examination that while pressing the pillow over the victim's face, he noticed her breathing had become slow and laboured and claimed he did it to stop her aggressive behaviour.
"The accused also admitted that he knew his actions could prevent the deceased from breathing because her entire face was covered by the pillow.
"He stopped only after she was no longer struggling and had stopped breathing," she said.
Norliza said the incident stemmed from an argument after the accused refused to sign an agreement promising not to leave the victim.
She also noted that the accused agreed with the prosecution's suggestion during cross-examination that he had not considered any other way of calming the victim apart from using the pillow.
On Oct 17, 2025, the same court sentenced Amirul Amin to seven years' imprisonment under Section 304(b) of the Penal Code for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
However, the prosecution succeeded in its appeal at the Court of Appeal, which set aside the conviction and ordered the accused to enter his defence in the Klang High Court on the murder charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code. – Bernama
