KOTA BARU: A total of 54 prisoners escaped death by hanging, after the Federal Court, sitting at the High Court here today, commuted their sentences to imprisonment between 30 and 38 years.
A three-judge panel led by the Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, in a unanimous decision waived the death penalty for all the prisoners involved who were previously convicted of murder and drug cases.
For the drug cases, each of them was sentenced to 30 years in prison, while the sentences for the murder cases ranged from 35 to 38 years.
The decision was made after the court accepted the application of all the accused made in accordance with Section 3(1) of the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Bill 2023
Tun Tengku Maimun sat together with Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Datuk Nordin Hassan.
The sitting at the High Court here yesterday and today involved six murder cases under Section 302 of the Penal Code and 48 drug cases under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
Yesterday, there were five murder cases and 23 drug cases and one murder case and another 25 drug cases today.
The prosecution of the case was handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Fuad Abdul Aziz and Deputy Public Prosecutor Norzilati Izhani Zainal@Zainol, while the accused was represented by a lawyers appointed by the court.