A three-man bench. chaired by Justice Mohd Zawawi Salleh, in dismissing Shahril Jaafar’s appeal, said the guilty verdict was supported by strong evidence.
“The trial judge did not commit any appealable error and this court need not intervene,” Zawawi said.
Last year, trial judge Mohd Zaki Abdul Wahab sentenced Shahril to death for the murder of Chee Gaik Yap.
Shahril murdered Chee, then aged 25, near the Cinta Sayang Club in Taman Ria Jaya, Sungai Petani, on Jan 15, 2006.
Chee, a Universiti Utara Malaysia graduate, was raped and her body dumped in a housing estate.
She was believed to have been tailed by her assailant while jogging in the neighbourhood.
Shahril, the son of a businessman with a “Datuk” title, was picked up soon after Chee’s body was found, but was released on police bail pending the results of a DNA test.
He, however, skipped bail and left for Perth, Australia, where he subsequently obtained permanent resident status.
He was re-arrested six years later when he arrived at the KL International Airport from Perth in January 2012.
In June 2014, the High Court acquitted Shahril as the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case.
However, in November that year, the Court of Appeal set aside the High Court’s decision and ordered Shahril to enter his defence.
Shahril gave an unsworn statement from the dock where prosecutors could not cross-examine him.