PUTRAJAYA, April 30 (Bernama) — The Federal Court here today upheld the conviction, 30-year jail sentence and whipping of an odd-job worker who killed his friend and lived with the corpse for four days.
A panel of three judges presided by Justice Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan, sitting with Justices Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Hanipah Farikullah, dismissed Mohd Azhud Ibrahim’s appeal against his conviction and sentences.
Justice Nallini said Mohd Azhud’s lawyer submitted that the prosecution had not made out a prima facie case against his client, but the court found that there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to prove a prima facie case against the accused.
Mohd Azhud, 33, was appealing against the Court of Appeal’s decision last year which upheld his murder conviction, but commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane.
In February 2023, the Ipoh High Court sentenced him to death for murdering Ahmad Azam Ahmad, 43, at a house in Lorong Mohd Ali Kampung Bahagia, Teluk Intan, Perak at 12.10 am on Aug 10, 2018.
According to the facts of the case, a friend who visited Mohd Azhud’s house noticed a foul odour and confronted him, at which point Mohd Azhud admitted there was a dead body inside.
The friend testified in court that Mohd Azhud told him that, “I’ve been angry with him for a long time. I’m upset.”
In his testimony from the dock, Mohd Azhud claimed he acted in self-defence during a fight with Ahmad Azam, describing his friend as aggressive.
He said he later consumed cannabis and slept for two days, only to wake up and find Ahmad Azam unresponsive. Unable to bring himself to bury the body, he admitted to living with the corpse.
A post-mortem revealed 23 external injuries and severe trauma to the victim’s head and chest.
In the proceedings at the Federal Court today, lawyer Gurbachan Singh, representing Mohd Azhud, argued that his client should be acquitted of the murder as there was no circumstantial evidence that pointed irresistibly to the guilt of his client.
He also cited the absence of an eyewitness to the incident.
The prosecution, represented by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Fairuz Johari, conceded that no eyewitnesses were present but contended that the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming.
He said the appellant was the only person seen inside the house with the deceased body, and that police recovered several blood-stained items, including weapons, based on information provided by the appellant.
-- BERNAMA
