Appeal court confirms 30-year term and caning for stepbrother murder

The Court of Appeal in Putrajaya upheld the 30-year jail sentence and 12 strokes of the rotan imposed on former trader Mohamad Zamhuri Azami for the murder of his step-brother, Mohd Hasnul Nizar Khairul Anuar, and for concealing the corpse in a cement-filled drum. A three-judge panel—Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid and Datuk Seri Latifah Mohd Tahar—unanimously rejected Zamhuri's appeal and also turned down the prosecution's bid for a death sentence.

The judges affirmed that the evidence, including a deep neck wound testified by a pathologist, demonstrated intent to kill, rendering the defence of private defence inapplicable. The crime occurred on 6 March 2020 at the victims' home in Kampung Padang Hassan, Bukit Pinang, Alor Setar, Kedah. Defence counsel Ai Cha Ran argued for a lesser culpable homicide charge, but Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Aqilah Syaza Ariffin countered with forensic findings. The High Court had originally sentenced Zamhuri in May of the previous year.