A Court of Appeal panel today upheld the death sentence against a deaf and mute man convicted of murdering a family of four in a fire at their home in Tanjung Sepat, Selangor, nine years ago.
Kang Chang Heng, 47, a former furniture factory worker, lost his appeal after a three-member panel unanimously dismissed his bid to overturn his conviction and sentence.
The panel was chaired by Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, who sat with Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid and Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid.
The case drew attention in court today when a sign language interpreter acted as a “translator” for Kang during the proceedings.
In delivering the judgment, Noorin said the Shah Alam High Court had correctly found that the prosecution proved all essential elements of the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
“We found no material misdirection, misinterpretation or misunderstanding of the evidence, or error of principle that warranted intervention at the appellate stage,” she said.
The court therefore upheld the death sentence imposed on Kang.
Kang was convicted of murdering his girlfriend’s parents, Chia Tee Nang, 73, and Lim Mai Shak, 68, as well as their two grandchildren, Chia Yuan Bin, three, and Ryan Chia, nine.
The four victims died after a fire broke out at their home in Jalan Tepi Laut, Tanjung Sepat, Kuala Langat, between 4am and 5am on Dec 13, 2017.
The Court of Appeal also upheld Kang’s nine-year prison sentence for intentionally causing injury to another grandchild, Andrew Chia, who was 11 at the time.
Noorin said the court had considered Kang’s defence that he had borrowed money from an illegal moneylender and used the victims’ home address as collateral.
Kang had claimed he went to the house after being told that it had already been set on fire.
However, Noorin said Kang admitted during his defence that he did not tell Christina Chia, the 22nd prosecution witness, that he had been at the family home that morning, despite knowing that her parents had died in the fire.
He also admitted that he did not lodge a police report over the messages he allegedly received from the illegal moneylender or concerning the house fire.
The judge described the murders as exceptionally serious and cruel, noting that four people, including two elderly victims and two children, died in the same incident.
The court accepted evidence that Kang attacked an elderly woman while she was sitting on a wooden chair, chased her and continued attacking her after she fell.
He then attacked Andrew, slashing the boy’s neck twice, before deliberately setting the house on fire.
Andrew survived but suffered severe injuries after witnessing the attack.
Noorin said the court also considered Andrew’s evidence that, after regaining consciousness, he saw the house engulfed in flames and heard the screams of those trapped inside.
On Kang’s condition as a deaf and mute person, Noorin said it was relevant when considering his personal circumstances and defence.
However, she said the evidence showed that Kang was able to communicate with others using sign language.
“If Kang had genuinely been there with the intention of saving the victims, the appellant could have sought help from people passing along the road,” she said.
The court did not regard Kang’s condition as an aggravating factor, but found it was not sufficiently mitigating to outweigh the exceptional seriousness of the offences.
