Appellate Court commutes death sentence of ex-student convicted of murdering, burning pregnant girlfriend

THE Court of Appeal has commuted the death sentence of a former university student convicted of the brutal murder of his pregnant girlfriend, ruling instead that he serve 40 years in prison and receive 12 strokes of the cane.

The unanimous decision was delivered by a three-member appellate bench led by Azman Abdullah alongside Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid and Mohd Radzi Harun in the case involving 22-year-old Muhammad Fakrul Aiman Sajali.

The court ordered that the prison sentence take effect from the date of his arrest on 23 May 2023.

“Taking into account the appellant’s young age at the time of the incident, and the options available under the Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023, the court hereby sets aside the sentence of hanging until death imposed by the High Court and replaces it with a sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment from the date of arrest and 12 strokes of the cane,” the court said.

During mitigation, defence counsel Muhammad Nor Tamrin argued that the death sentence imposed by the Klang High Court had been excessively harsh given that his client was only 20 years and four months old when the offence was committed.

“The High Court imposed the death sentence after the appellant pleaded guilty before the trial commenced,” he said.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Abdul Malik Ayob maintained that the original punishment was proportionate to the brutality of the crime.

Under Malaysia’s Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023, courts now have discretion to impose either the death penalty or a prison term ranging from 30 to 40 years for murder convictions.

Where the death penalty is not imposed, male offenders below the age of 50 are also subject to a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane.

On 15 October last year, the Klang High Court sentenced Muhammad Fakrul Aiman to death after he pleaded guilty to murdering and burning his 21-year-old pregnant girlfriend, Nur Anisah Abdul Wahab, in Sabak Bernam in 2023.

High Court judge Norazlin Othman ruled that the accused had entered his guilty plea voluntarily and without conditions, while accepting the prosecution’s case facts and exhibits as accurate.

In her judgment, she described the killing as exceptionally cruel and said the circumstances pointed to a premeditated crime warranting severe punishment.

According to the charge, Muhammad Fakrul Aiman murdered Nur Anisah along Jalan Sungai Limau between 8.30pm on 22 May and 8am on 23 May 2023.

Previous media reports stated that a dispute linked to an out-of-wedlock pregnancy was believed to have triggered the killing, in which the victim, a restaurant worker, was allegedly stabbed, disembowelled and set on fire in a palm oil plantation area near Jalan Sungai Limau. - May 14, 2026