PUTRAJAYA: Former cop Mohamed Ya'cob Demyati who was convicted of the murder of famous 1990s-era singer Sabi'ul Malik Shafie popularly known as Along Spoon is now a free man.
The 57-year-old man was sentenced to natural life imprisonment after Shah Alam High Court found him guilty of the offence on Nov 20, 2010.
However, the ex-policeman escaped caning because he was 50 years of age or older.
Ya'cob was sentenced to death, but had it commuted to life imprisonment after the Pardon Board allowed his appeal petition.
On Nov 2, 2010, he was sentenced to the gallows for the murder conviction after his final appeal was rejected by the Federal Court.
Today, a five-member panel Apex Court chaired by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat commuted his sentence under the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act.
The amendment to the sentence takes effect from the date of his arrest on Jan 4, 2000.
The other judges were Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Mohamad Zabidin Mohd Diah and three Federal Court judges Datuk Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim, Datuk Nordin Hassan, and Datuk Abu Bakar Jais.
His lawyer, Che Muji Che Noh, said his client should be freed and return home, taking into account the one-third remission for good behaviour in prison.
The top court upheld the Seremban High Court's decision which convicted the accused on April 10, 2002.
Ya'cob was among 12 men who saw their death sentences substituted with life imprisonment of 30 years from the date of their arrests.
According to the charge, he was accused of murdering Along Spoon, 19, on the roadside near Jalan Kuala Klawang – Genting Peras in Jelebu at 1am on Dec 26, 1999.
Along Spoon was reported missing on Dec 25, 1999, before the police discovered a human skeleton tied in a sack on the hillside along Jalan Kuala Klawang on Jan 6, 2000.