PUTRAJAYA: Two general workers escaped the hangman's noose when the Federal Court rejected their appeal against a murder conviction but commuted their death sentences to 30 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane each.
A three-judge panel chaired by Justice Datuk Harmindar Singh Dhaliwal unanimously rejected the appeal by A. Rames, 47, and Tew Siew Kem, 46, against their conviction in the murder of a farmhand seven years ago.
"The appeal was without merit and the conviction against the appellants is affirmed.
"We however allow the appeal against the (death) sentence," said Justice Harmindar, who sat with Justices Datuk Abu Bakar Jais and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin.
Rames' prison term was effective from the date of his arrest on May 15, 2017 while Tew's sentence took effect on Nov 8, 2018.
Justice Harmindar wrote that there was no miscarriage of justice because Tew or his lawyer were given every opportunity to see the court transcripts and recordings and recall any prosecution witness.
"Two witnesses were recalled and cross-examined by the lawyer. Therefore, we find no merit on this ground,” said Justice Harmindar.
Furthermore, he said there was no merit in the appellant's argument that the trial judge failed to appreciate the inconsistencies and contradictions between the testimony of the two prosecution witnesses.
"The trial judge had carefully considered the inconsistencies and came to the right conclusion that these two witnesses were credible despite the inconsistencies.
"Under the circumstances, we find that the convictions are safe,” he said.
According to the facts of the case, Rames was charged with another person still at large for killing A. Arumugam on an oil palm plantation in Jalan Rawang, Bestari Jaya in Kuala Selangor between 11.30pm on April 3, 2017 and 7.15am the following day.
Tew was charged with abetting Rames, according to Section 302 of the Penal Code read with Section 34, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment for a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of 40 years and no fewer than 12 strokes upon conviction.
The prosecution was led by DPP Datin Asmah Musa; Rames was represented by lawyer M. Manoharan, while lawyers V. Ayasamy and Renuka Krishnasamy represented Tew. – Bernama
