Man Fails Final Appeal Against 35-year Sentence For 2012 Murder Of Cleaner

PUTRAJAYA, July 8 (Bernama) — A 42-year-old man today failed in his final appeal to overturn his conviction and sentence of 35 years' imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane for the 2012 murder of an Indonesian domestic cleaner, whom he had accused of speaking ill of him.

A three-member panel of the Federal Court comprising Justices Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang and Datuk Hanipah Farikullah unanimously dismissed the appeal by Khairul Azizi Abdul Jalil, upholding the decisions of both the High Court and Court of Appeal.

Delivering the judgment, Justice Nallini held that the prosecution was lawfully entitled to adduce psychiatric evidence in the course of establishing a prima facie case, and not solely in rebuttal, where such evidence is necessary and relevant to establishing the elements of the offence.

She further ruled that no miscarriage of justice had occurred, particularly as the prosecution had called Dr Ian Lloyd Anthony, a Special Forensic Psychiatrist, whose evidence was properly admitted. She added that the appellant had failed to establish the defence of insanity on a balance of probabilities.

Upon a comprehensive assessment of the evidence, the Court found the conviction to be safe and held that the appellant had been afforded full opportunity to present his defence without any procedural unfairness.

Khairul Azizi, who was managing his father’s homestay before his arrest, was convicted and sentenced to death by the Ipoh High Court in December 2022 for the murder of Aidah Tursinawati, 43, at a house in Kampung Tersusun Tasek, Ipoh, Perak, at approximately 3.25 pm on Oct 9, 2017. 

High Court Judge Su Tiang Joo held that Khairul Azizi had failed to discharge the burden of proving, on a balance of probabilities, that he was of unsound mind and incapable of understanding the nature of his act at the material time.

In June last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the conviction but allowed the appeal against sentence, commuting the death penalty to 35 years’ imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane. Subsequently, Khairul Azizi appealed to the Federal Court seeking an acquittal.

A central issue in the appeal concerned the admissibility of psychiatric evidence adduced by the prosecution during its case-in-chief. The prosecution had called Dr Ian to testify as to the appellant’s mental condition before the defence formally raised insanity.

Khairul Azizi had raised the defence of insanity at an early stage of the investigation and was referred to Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta for psychiatric evaluation under a Magistrate’s order. 

A 2018 medical report by a senior consultant forensic psychiatrist concluded that he was suffering from schizophrenia and was of unsound mind at the time of the offence.

However, pursuant to a subsequent evaluation ordered by the High Court, the prosecution tendered a certificate dated Feb 19, 2019, issued by the Medical Director of Hospital Bahagia, which was accompanied by a report from Dr Ian, who concluded that Khairul Azizi was of sound mind and fit to plead.

Confronted with two conflicting psychiatric assessments regarding the appellant’s mental state at the material time, the trial judge accepted Dr Ian’s expert opinion and rejected the defence of insanity.

Defence counsel Mohd Fitri Asmuni contended that it was procedurally irregular for the prosecution to adduce psychiatric evidence during its case-in-chief, arguing that the burden of establishing insanity rests with the defence, and that rebuttal evidence should only be led after the defence closes its case.

The prosecution, however, countered that there is no legal bar preventing the prosecution from calling a psychiatrist during its case-in-chief where the mental condition of the accused is directly relevant to the elements of the charge.

At today’s hearing, the prosecution was represented by deputy public prosecutors Muhamad Iskandar Ahmad, Tengku Shahrizam Tuan Lah, Ng Siew Wee and Mohd Arif Aizuddin Masrom.

— BERNAMA