#166 : DITEKAP SETERIKA PANAS 90 KALI HINGGA MEMBAWA MAUT | KES ZULFARHAN OSMAN

Initial Events and Discovery of Deceased
📌 On the evening of the incident, the victim, Zulfarhan Ostman, was seen eating porridge purchased from a Ramadan bazaar.
🚑 After Maghrib prayers, the victim was found stiff and unresponsive, prompting the first accused, Akmal Zuhairi, to call an ambulance.
🏥 The victim was rushed to Serdang Hospital, where resuscitation efforts (CPR) failed, and he was pronounced dead at 9:25 PM.
🔍 The autopsy by Dr. Salmah revealed 90 burn marks covering approximately 90% of the body, concluding the cause of death was burn injuries.

Alleged Assaults and Torture (May 21-22, 2017)
💥 On May 21, 2017, the victim was allegedly taken to room 305 and beaten/kicked by four students, including Accused 1 (Akmal Zuhairi).
🔥 Between 4:45 AM and 5:45 AM on May 22, 2017, Accused 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 allegedly applied steam iron burns to the victim’s body while his hands and feet were tied.
🤕 Accused 6 (Abdul Hakim) was seen giving instructions during the steam iron application, according to witness Syafiq Abdullah.

Legal Proceedings and Verdicts Progression
🏛️ The High Court found a prima facie case against the accused for murder (Section 302 Penal Code) and causing hurt (Section 330 Penal Code).
⚖️ The High Court eventually convicted Accused 1-5 of voluntarily causing death (Section 304 A) and Accused 6 of abetment (Section 109 read with Section 304 A), sentencing them to 18 years in prison.
🔄 Both prosecution (appealing for murder conviction) and defense (appealing convictions under Section 330 and 304 A) lodged appeals to the Court of Appeal.

Court of Appeal and Federal Court Decisions
⭐ The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction for causing hurt (Section 330) but overturned the Section 304 A verdict, convicting Accused 1-6 for murder (Section 302) due to sufficient injury as per Section 300(c).
❌ The Federal Court set aside the murder convictions for all six accused, finding the prosecution failed to prove the injury "ordinarily" caused death, as expert testimony from Dr. Salmah was successfully challenged by defense expert Dr. Rohayu.
🔒 The Federal Court reinstated the High Court's finding for Accused 1-5 being guilty of voluntarily causing death not amounting to murder (Section 304 A) and Accused 6 for abetment (Section 109 read with Section 304 A), confirming the 18-year prison sentence for all six.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ The defense strategy heavily relied on challenging the forensic evidence regarding the cause of death, particularly the element of the burns being the *ordinary* cause of death.
➡️ The testimony of eyewitnesses, Ahmad Senabil and Syafiq Abdullah, was crucial in establishing the acts of assault at the trial court level, though their reliability was contested during appeals.
➡️ The defense raised the argument that the victim's subsequent medical treatment (antibiotics from Dr. Azfar) could have induced a fatal allergic reaction (Stephen Johnson syndrome), which the courts ultimately dismissed.
➡️ The Federal Court highlighted the critical difference between injuries that "can" cause death versus injuries that "ordinarily" cause death under Section 300(c) of the Penal Code, resulting in the reduction of the murder charge.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Jan 22, 2026, 14:45 UTC