11 hours ago
Murder: Man's jail term cut to 35 years, caning
Published on: Friday, June 20, 2025
Published on: Fri, Jun 20, 2025
By: Jo Ann Mool Text Size: The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, and following an amendment to Section 302, the court can impose a jail term of not less than 30 years and not exceeding 40 years on offenders if not given the death sentence. Kota Kinabalu: A 36-year-old man escaped a hangman's noose after the Court of Appeal Thursday commuted his death sentence to 35 years in jail and 12 lashes of the cane for murdering a teenage girl in Semporna, seven years ago. A panel of three judges, consisting of Datuk Azman Abdullah, Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, after hearing Alkadzman Maksidi's appeal against the High Court decision, dismissed his appeal against the conviction.
Advertisement The appellate court set aside the appellant's death sentence and substituted it with 35 years' imprisonment plus 12 strokes of the cane. Alkadzman was ordered to serve the jail sentence from the date of his arrest on Nov 29, 2018. He was on Nov 23, 2022 sentenced to death by the Tawau High Court after he was found guilty of murdering a 14-year-old girl on Nov 29, 2018 at 2.30pm, in a mango orchard in Pulau Gaya, Semporna. The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, and following an amendment to Section 302, the court can impose a jail term of not less than 30 years and not exceeding 40 years on offenders if not given the death sentence.
Advertisement Male offenders shall also be punished with whipping of not less than 12 strokes. Earlier, counsel Mervyn @ Hasan Sainy, representing the appellant, appealed for the sentence to be substituted for life imprisonment of 30 years. He submitted, among other things, that following the abolition of the Mandatory Death Penalty in 2023, and based on the facts of the present case, the circumstances did not fall within the category of the 'rarest of the rare' principle. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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