MALAYSIA: EX-POLICEMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR STEP-DAUGHTER’S MURDER

April 1, 2021:

A former police corporal told his family members to accept what had happened and to look after his children after the High Court of Kuala Lumpur on 31 March 2021 sentenced him to death by hanging for killing his step-daughter six years ago.
Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah handed down the sentence on Muhammad Khairuanuar Baharuddin, 39, after finding that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts against the prosecution’s case at the end of the defence case.
As soon as the proceeding ended, Muhammad Khairuanuar, who was in the dock and looked calm, turned to his family members, who were in the public gallery, and with a smile, said, “InsyaAllah, it has been determined by Allah. Pray for the best. Take good care of my children”.
Most of the family members were not able to hold back their tears and were seen crying.
Muhammad Khairuanuar was charged with murdering two-year-old Hanis Amanda Mohd Zafil during an incident at a condominium in Section 5, Wangsa Maju between 7am and 7.30pm on 6 November 2015.
The charge, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, provides the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
In the judgment, Judge Sequerah said the court found that all the circumstantial evidence in the case led to the conclusion that the accused killed the deceased.
“Therefore, the court convicted the accused under Section 302 (of the Penal Code). The punishment in this case is mandatory, which is hanged to death”, he added.
Deputy public prosecutor Zahida Zakaria prosecuted in the case, while lawyer Fahri Azzat represented Muhammad Khairuanuar.
The heartbreaking case was reported by the media in November 2015 and it led to the opening of a Facebook account under the name “Justice For Amanda”.