KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): Staff and students of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) and members of the Malaysian Armed Forces have been told not to allow a recurrence of the type of incident that led to Naval Cadet Officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain's death.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein (pic), in describing the incident as a heinous act, said it should serve as a lesson for UPNM and the Armed Forces.
‘’Zulfarhan Osman’s death four years ago was very saddening. As the Defence Minister then, I had instructed the Military Training Academy to immediately suspend 32 cadet officers, as well as re-evaluate the training system and trainee management in the academy.
"I also gave an assurance that no one will be protected and (allowed to) escape from the law," he said in a post on Facebook on Wednesday (Nov 3).
He said UPNM and the Armed Forces should learn from the prison sentences imposed on six of the students who were found guilty of culpable homicide, not amounting to murder, in Zulfarhan Osman’s death.
"I will never compromise on acts of crime and cruelty," he said.
On Tuesday (Nov 2), the High Court here sentenced six UPNM students to 18 years' jail each after they were found guilty of causing Zulfarhan Osman’s death.
Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah handed down the sentence on Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali.
Of the six accused, five were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code with murdering Zulfarhan Osman, while Abdoul Hakeem was charged under Section 109 of the same law with abetting in the murder.
They were charged with committing the act in room 03-05, Jebat dormitory block, UPNM, at Kem Perdana, Sungai Besi between 2.30am and 5.30am on May 21, 2017 and in room 04-10 between 4.45am and 5.45am on May 22, 2017.
The judge ruled that even though the court was satisfied that Zulfarhan Osman's killers had committed a heartless crime and acted like hardcore criminals by pressing a steam iron to the victim's body, he could not convict them of murder as it was not a premeditated killing.
He said the offence committed by the UPNM cadet officers could only be regarded as manslaughter under Section 304 of the Penal Code, and not murder under Section 302 of the code.
Section 302 carries a mandatory death sentence while 304 carries an imprisonment for a term which may extend to 30 years.
In his judgment, Azman also said there were 90 burn marks caused by a hot steam iron all over Zulfarhan Osman's body except for his face and the back of his hands which showed how meticulous the accused were in making sure the marks went unseen.
Zulfarhan Osman died at Serdang Hospital on June 1, 2017. – Bernama