PUTRAJAYA:
The Court of Appeal here has maintained the death penalty imposed on a deaf and mute man for killing his then girlfriend’s parents and nephews nine years ago.
Justice Noorin Badaruddin said the death sentence handed down to Kang Cheng Heng was warranted due to the severity of the offence.
“Two senior citizens and two children lost their lives. They were plainly vulnerable and defenceless (when they were murdered).
“The accused’s conduct was not merely reckless; it involved sustained violence against vulnerable persons, followed by the deliberate setting of their house on fire.
“These are matters which, in our view, take this case far beyond the ordinary cases of murder,” said the judge, who was joined by Justices Radzi Abdul Hamid and Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid.
Kang murdered his then girlfriend’s parents, Chia Tee Nang and Lim Mai Sha, and the couple’s grandchildren, Chia Zeng Xi and Chia Yuan Bin, at their house in Tanjung Sepat on Dec 13, 2017.
During the High Court trial, the court heard that Kang was unhappy with Tee Nang and Lim for refusing to let their daughter marry him.
Kang also borrowed money frequently from the Chia family and never paid them back.
Another nephew, Chia Zeng Haol, the sole survivor of the incident, testified that he saw Kang repeatedly assaulting his grandmother on the day of the murder.
Zeng Haol was also slashed twice on his neck by Kang.
The High Court found Kang guilty of murder last year and sentenced him to death. Kang was also handed a nine-year jail sentence for injuring the surviving nephew.
In dismissing Kang’s appeal to challenge his conviction, Noorin said the court did not accept his defence that there was a “third party” or loan shark member that set the house on fire, and that Kang had tried to save the victims from the fire.
“The alleged role as a rescuer is wholly inconsistent with the nephew’s evidence as to what the accused did to him and his grandmother,” she added.
Lawyer Jasmine Cheong represented Kang while deputy public prosecutor How May Ling appeared for the prosecution.
Cheong said her client would appeal today’s decision.