13 Lahad Datu Vocational College, aged 16 to 19, were found guilty today (August 22) of murdering Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan in March of last year.
Delivering the verdict, Tawau High Court Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol said the 13 accused were guilty under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the Act, as reported by Berita Harian.
They only wanted to “teach the victim a lesson”
All 13 suspects were charged with the murder of the 17-year-old student in a college dorm room between 9 PM on March 21 and 7:38 AM on March 22 last year.
After reviewing all the evidence, the court was convinced that the 13 acted together with the same intent, which led to the victim’s death.
“The defences raised (whether denial, alibi, partial admission, or blaming other students) didn’t hold up against the independent witness statements. The claim that they only wanted to ‘teach the victim a lesson’ was groundless, as the injuries were clearly severe enough to cause death.”
“The attack was prolonged and repeated”
Duncan said the prosecution had clearly proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The question isn’t whether the accused meant to kill, but whether the injuries he caused were serious enough under normal circumstances to cause death. The medical evidence showed they definitely were,” he explained.
He added that provocation didn’t apply since the incident wasn’t a sudden reaction but a prolonged, repeated attack.
The High Court judge also dismissed the defence’s claim that the victim could have survived with immediate treatment, pointing out that experts only said it was a possibility, not a certainty.
The court has set August 28 for sentencing, pending a social report from the Welfare Department under the Child Act 2001
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