PUTRAJAYA, Aug 24 — The Court of Appeal commuted the death sentence of a former armed forces personnel today to 40 years in jail, for killing a former school teacher during a robbery in 2017.
The three-man panel of judges comprising Justices Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk S.M. Komathy Suppiah also ordered Zarmayade Abdullah, 46, to be given 12 strokes of the cane.
In delivering the court’s decision, Justice Hadhariah dismissed Zarmayade’s appeal and upheld his conviction.
She, however, set aside the death sentence imposed on him (Zarmayade) by the High Court and replaced it with 40 years in jail.
The court ordered Zarmayade to serve his jail sentence from the date of his arrest on April 16, 2017.
According to the charge sheet, Zarmayade was accused of murdering Rokiah Mamat, 61, at a house in Kampung Mengkebang, Jalan Batu Lada in Kuala Krai, Kelantan. The crime occurred between 11am and 3pm on April 12, 2017.
Rokiah was found dead by her child upon returning home in the afternoon.
On December 22, 2020, the High Court found Zarmayade guilty of the offence and sentenced him to death.
He then took his case to the Court of Appeal.
— Bernama
