June 11: Judgment day for 13 teens in vocational college killing

New Straits Times

14-05-2025

TAWAU: The fate of 13 teenagers, aged between 16 and 19, who are accused of murdering a student from Lahad Datu Vocational College (KV) in March last year, is expected to be decided on June 11.
High Court Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol set the tentative date for the verdict during proceedings at the High Court here today.
Today's session was initially scheduled for clarification on decisions, submissions, or specific legal issues before the court fixes the date for judgment.
Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Nur Nisla Abd Latif informed the court that all parties had filed their written submissions, with the prosecution submitting theirs earlier this morning.
However, she requested a new deadline to file the prosecution's reply, as several defence counsels had submitted their submissions late.
Duncan instructed the prosecution to file their reply submission by or before May 21 and subsequently fixed June 11 as the tentative date for the court's decision.
The 13 teenagers were jointly charged with the murder of Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan at Lahad Datu Vocational College between 9pm on March 21 and 7.38am on March 22 last year.
They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34, which carries the mandatory death penalty or imprisonment of 30 to 40 years and up to 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
On April 15, the defence closed its case after calling 18 witnesses during the defence stage of the trial. All 13 accused gave sworn testimony from the witness stand.
Eight of the accused were represented by lawyers Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki, Datuk Ram Singh, and Chen Wen Jye, while the remaining five were represented by Abdul Ghani Zelika, and court-appointed counsels Vivien Thien, Jhasseny P. Kang, Kusni Ambotuwo, and Mohamed Zairi Zainal Abidin.