PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court upheld the death sentence imposed on a former barber for the murder of an 11-month-old baby girl known as Zara, who suffered serious vaginal injuries due to sexual assault six years ago.
In a unanimous decision reached by a panel of three judges led by Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, the court dismissed the final appeal by Hazmi Majid, 42, to set aside his conviction and sentence.
“The conviction and (death) sentences are safe. This court upholds the sentence as decided by the Court of Appeal and the High Court,” said Judge Rhodzariah, sitting with Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.
Earlier, lawyer T. Vijayandran, representing Hazmi, submitted that his client was unaware of his actions as he was under the influence of drugs.
He also requested that the death sentence be set aside and replaced with a 30-year imprisonment.
However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi said the plea of being under the influence of drugs should be dismissed as Hazmi attempted to dispose of evidence by washing a towel to remove blood, showing that he was conscious when the incident happened.
According to Tetralina, the case met the requirement of “the rarest of rare cases”, which justified the death penalty being upheld.
“The victim was sent by her mother to the babysitter’s house at 6.45am on the day of the incident, and the child died at 1.30pm.
“She only weighed 8.26kg, her teeth had not yet grown and the severe haemorrhaging of the brain meant that her chances of survival were slim,” she said, as reported by Bernama.
According to the prosecution evidence, the appellant had previously never offered to assist his wife, who was the child’s babysitter, but on that day he volunteered to bathe the victim.
Hazmi was found guilty of causing the death of Nur Muazara Ulfa Mohammad Zainal, or Zara, in a unit at Pangsapuri Sri Cempaka, Bandar Baru Bangi, between 10.30am and 1.30pm on Nov 7, 2018.
He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the death penalty, upon conviction.
In March last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the death sentence handed down on Hazmi by the Shah Alam High Court on Aug 20, 2021.
In 2019, Hazmi was also sentenced to 13 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane by the Shah Alam High Court for two counts of sexually abusing the child.
The media had reported that the infant died two days after being in critical condition at the Serdang Hospital in Selangor, believed to be due to physical and sexual abuse by her babysitter’s husband.
