A three-man panel, comprising Mohtarudin Baki, Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil and Rhodzariah Bujang, unanimously dismissed Muhammad Faizal Salim’s appeal against a High Court’s decision to convict and sentence him to death for the offence.

Mohtarudin, who chaired the panel, said they were of the view that issues raised by Faizal’s counsel in his appeal did not have merit.

Faizal, 40, was found guilty and sentenced to death by the Johor Bahru High Court on Feb 28 last year for killing Nik Norzielawati Akmar Afandi, 35, at the Hutan Bandar Bukit Cantik recreational park in Mersing, Johor, between 11pm on April 12, 2015 and 12.30am on April 13, 2015.

According to the facts of the case, a prosecution witness, who was the accused’s neighbour, had testified that he heard voices of a woman and the accused (Faizal) quarrelling.

The witness, Sergeant Zainuddin Bakar, said he also heard the voice of a woman groaning in pain and begging in Malay “Jangan pukul saya macam ini, saya sedang mengandung” (“Don’t hit me like this, I’m pregnant”).

A doctor at the Mersing Hospital emergency ward had examined Norzielawati and confirmed her death.

The post-mortem report revealed that the cause of Norzielawati’s death was blunt force trauma to the head and that there were 47 injuries on her body such as bruises, lacerations and abrasions.

Internal examination also showed she was six months’ pregnant.

In the appeal today, Faizal’s counsel Subash Ramasamy told the court that his client and the deceased were lovers and it was just a lovers’ quarrel.

He said Faizal’s conviction for murder was unsafe and urged the court to amend the charge to culpable homicide, not amounting to murder, because Faizal did not have the intention to kill the woman.

Deputy public prosecutor Nurshafini Mustafha argued that Faizal had the intention to hurt the woman and that the injuries found on the deceased were the kind that would usually lead to death.

Faizal has one more chance to appeal — to the Federal Court.