PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has upheld the five-year prison sentence on 14 men, including a former national Muay Thai athlete, for being members of the organised crime group "Ayahanda Yie Tiger 99".
This followed a unanimous decision by a three-judge panel led by Datuk Hanipah Farikullah in dismissing the prosecution's appeal against the five-year prison sentence on grounds that there was no reason for the court to change or interfere with the decision of the Shah Alam High Court, made in March 2021 and March 2022.
"After reading and hearing the submissions, we found that the High Court Judge had not erred in his decision.
"We also found that the judge had detailed the factors in handing down the five-year jail sentence, including taking into account the public interest factor.
"Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed and the five-year prison sentence from the date of arrest is upheld," said Justice Hanipah, who sat with judges Datuk Supang Lian and Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin on Tuesday (Feb 14).
The 14 men, in handcuffs in the dock, were seen to be overwhelmed by the decision and were heard thanking God.
They are former national athlete Mohd Faizal Ramli, Mohamad Japri Abu Samah, Astro Jakaria, Nuriasbat Mohd Maamon, Edi Narsuna Nizar, Muhammad Faris Yusoff, Muhamad Fakhrurazi Ali, Mohamad Sharfiq Mohamed Ali, Mohamad Noor Helmie Zanal Abidin, W Mohd Ihsan W Razali@W Husin, Rustam Tanni, Azukismi Che Abdullah, Nik Arzahar Nik Mat and Masyre Mohamed Narizan, all aged between 27 and 46.
They were arrested in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and pleaded guilty to being members of the organised crime group at a premises on Jalan Sentul in Pandamaran, Port Klang, between May 2017 and Jan 22, 2020.
The charge against them was framed under Section 130V(1) of the Penal Code, which provides imprisonment for up to 20 years upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutors Aznee Salmie Ahmad and Khairul Aisamuddin Abdul Rahman prosecuted, while the 14 men were represented by lawyers S. Sathyaimi Abdul Kadir, S.Sathya, Lee Win Xu, A.Komathi, Izzat Irfan Taib, Zaleha Hayat, Lailawati Husain and Fazilawati Hussain. – Bernama
