The Federal Court today upheld the death sentence imposed on a former chef for the murder of his four-year-old stepson in Klang in 2015.
A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali and Datuk Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali unanimously dismissed Mohd Sazly Zamry’s final appeal against his conviction and sentence.
In delivering the court’s decision, Rhodzariah described the killing of the defenceless child as heinous and diabolical, saying the brutality involved was beyond comprehension and deeply disturbing to society.
She said the prosecution had presented strong circumstantial evidence which established Sazly’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The court also accepted the pathologist’s evidence that the child had suffered 29 external injuries to his body and head.
The bench found that Sazly, 49, was the boy’s sole custodian for two weeks while his wife was at work. During that period, evidence showed that the child was repeatedly subjected to verbal and physical abuse.
Witnesses told the court that the boy had been locked inside a room for two weeks, with a rope tied from inside the room to the outside of the door. He was allegedly subjected to repeated scolding and beatings before his body was later discovered in an unused toilet behind the house.
The court also heard that Sazly had sought a neighbour’s assistance to dispose of the body, claiming the child had been knocked down in an accident by an unidentified friend. He subsequently resisted arrest and prevented his wife from opening the door when police arrived.
DNA belonging to the victim was also detected on a cane and a mop handle, while mixed DNA was found in blood splatters on a wall, further supporting the prosecution’s case.
Sazly was convicted and sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court on Jan 17, 2020, after being found guilty of killing Aidil Adha, the son of his second wife, at a house in Jalan Sungai Udang, Klang, between 2pm and 6.15pm on Dec 20, 2015.
The Court of Appeal later dismissed his appeal on April 14, 2023. At the Federal Court hearing, Deputy Public Prosecutor Eyu Ghim Siang urged the bench to maintain the death sentence, highlighting the two weeks of sustained abuse suffered by the child.
Defence lawyer Datuk Rozal Azimin Ahmad, meanwhile, appealed for the death sentence to be commuted to a term of imprisonment. However, the Federal Court found no grounds to interfere with the conviction or sentence.
