PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today upheld the conviction and death sentence of a former chef for the murder of his four-year-old stepson 11 years ago, finding that the prosecution had presented strong circumstantial evidence establishing his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
A three-member bench chaired by Justice Rhodzariah Bujang unanimously dismissed Sazly Zambry’s appeal, agreeing with the High Court and Court of Appeal that the evidence against him was compelling.
Rhodzariah said the death sentence was the only appropriate punishment for the crime, which she described as “heinous and diabolical”.
Rhodzariah, who sat on the bench with Justices Ruzima Ghazali and Nazlan Ghazali, said the court found that Sazly, 50, failed to raise any reasonable doubt about his culpability for the death of Aidil Adha Affendi.
Sazly committed the offence at a house in Jalan Sungai Udang, Klang, between 2pm and 6.15pm on Dec 20, 2015.
Rhodzariah said the prosecution’s case was strengthened by Sazly’s conduct, as he had sought a neighbour’s assistance to dispose of the body while claiming that an unnamed friend had caused the child’s death. He also prevented his wife from opening the door when police arrived and later resisted arrest.
“In light of this evidence, the appellant’s conviction, in our view, is safe,” she said.
Rhodzariah said the undisputed evidence that the child sustained 29 external injuries to his body and head was particularly damning.
According to the prosecution’s case, Aidil Adha was brought to Sazly’s house about two weeks before the incident. Sazly was the sole person caring for him while the boy’s mother was at work.
On Dec 20, 2015, Sazly went to his neighbour and claimed that a friend had knocked down a boy in an accident in Pandamaran.
He told the neighbour that he had brought the child’s body to his house and sought help to dispose of it, saying he also intended to wrap the body in a chilli sack first. The neighbour became suspicious and lodged a police report.
When police arrived at Sazly’s house at 6.16pm that day, his wife told them that Sazly had prohibited her from opening the door and asked them to produce a search warrant.
Police eventually broke down the door, after which Sazly acted aggressively and attempted to flee before being arrested. The child’s body was found in an unused toilet at the back of the house.
Forensic investigators recovered a mop handle, rotan and length of PVC pipe from the house. DNA testing found a mixture of DNA belonging to Sazly and the deceased on the rotan, while the deceased’s DNA was detected on the mop handle and in blood splatters on a wall in one of the rooms.
A post-mortem found that the child had suffered 29 injuries to his body and head, and concluded that the cause of death was severe head injury due to blunt trauma.
Sazly denied causing the fatal injuries and suggested that someone else had assaulted the child, although he said he did not know who.
Deputy public prosecutor Eyu Ghim Siang appeared for the prosecution while lawyers Rosal Azimin Ahmad, Amir Aizat Rani and Nabil Ashraf Razak represented Sazly.
