PETALING JAYA: Two "Tuhan Harun" followers on death row for murdering an assistant director of the Pahang Islamic religious department (JAIP) in 2013 had their sentences commuted to 40 years’ imprisonment by the Federal Court today.
A three-member bench led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat unanimously allowed the applications by Sumustapha Suradi, 50, and Shamsinar Abdul Halim, 47, and substituted their death sentences with prison terms.
The bench ordered the jail terms to begin from the date of their arrest, with Shamsinar’s commencing from Feb 22, 2014, and Sumustapha’s from Nov 27, 2013.
"Shamsinar will also be given 12 strokes of the cane," Tengku Maimun said, according to Berita Harian.
Also on the panel hearing the review were Justices Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Nordin Hassan.
Shamsinar and Sumustapha had sought to have their death sentences commuted to imprisonment following the enactment of the Mandatory Death Penalty Abolition Act 2023, which allows judges the discretion to impose either the death penalty or a prison sentence of between 30 and 40 years.
If the death penalty is not imposed, male offenders under the age of 50 are also liable for a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane.
In February 2018, the Court of Appeal dismissed their final appeals against their convictions and death penalty for lack of merit.
The decision was upheld by the Federal Court in November that year.
The duo were sentenced to death by the Kuantan High Court in 2016 after they were found guilty of murdering Ahmad Raffli Abd Malek, an enforcement division principal assistant director with JAIP.
The 49-year-old officer was shot outside his house at Bandar Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, on Nov 10, 2013.
Cult leader Harun Mat Saat, better known as Tuhan Harun, was also charged with conspiring in the murder.
However, the charge against him was dropped on Aug 26, 2016, after he died at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital, Kuantan, on Aug 16, 2016, having suffered respiratory problems.
