PUTRAJAYA (Bernama): The Federal Court has upheld the death sentence of a former school canteen worker for firing shots which caused the death of a shop owner while committing a robbery at a hardware shop, six years ago.

       A three-man panel, led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, unanimously dismissed the appeal brought by Anuar Mohamed, and affirmed his conviction and death sentence on Monday (Aug 16).

       Justice Tengku Maimun, in the decision, said after hearing submissions from the prosecution and defence, and after perusing the records of appeal, the court is satisfied that the lower courts had rightly decided on the identification issue.

       She said that the court had watched the closed-circuit television (CCTV) recording, and is satisfied that the wife of the deceased was in a position that enabled her to identify the appellant (Anuar) who fired the shots.

       The other two judges were Federal Court judges, Datuk Seri Mohd Zawawi Salleh and Datuk Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.

       Anuar, 43, was found guilty and sentenced to death by the High Court on June 28, 2018, for firing the shots which resulted in the death of Mustaffa Sidek, 52, while committing a robbery at Ultra Maju Trading, Jalan Beris Lalang in Bachok, Kelantan at about 5.30 pm on Feb 5, 2015.

       He was charged under Section 3 of the Firearms Act (Increased Penalty) 1971.

       Anuar lost his appeal, which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on Aug 14, 2019.

       According to the facts of the case, the deceased's wife and daughter, together with a worker, were in the shop when three masked men entered the shop, with two of them armed with machetes and the other one, later identified as Anuar, carrying a pistol.

       The men took valuable items and money from the shop.

       There was a commotion between the deceased, his wife, and the three robbers when the wife was handcuffed together with the shop employee. During the commotion, the deceased's wife managed to remove the accused’s (Anuar's) mask which allowed her and the shop employee to see his face for about two seconds.

       The accused (Anuar) then fired three shots before fleeing the scene with the other two men.

       Anuar was represented by lawyer Hamdan Hamzah, while deputy public prosecutor Ku Hayati Ku Haron appeared for the prosecution. - Bernama