A three-member Court of Appeal bench, chaired by Kamaludin Md Said, also affirmed Luqman Hadi Mustapa’s 10-year jail sentence, to run concurrently, on charges of attempting to murder two sisters.
The other judges on the bench were Nordin Hassan and Hashim Hamzah.
In delivering the oral judgment, Nordin said the burden was on Luqman to prove the defence of legal insanity under Section 84 of the Penal Code on a balance of probabilities.
That provision states that it is not an offence if the crime is committed by an accused who is of unsound mind, incapable of knowing the nature of the act or that it is either wrong or contrary to law.
Nordin said the defence of legal insanity was one which should be left to the trial judge to decide based on the facts of the case.
“We find the defence of legal insanity was rightly dismissed based on the facts in the case and supported by legal propositions,” he said.
On Aug 16, 2019, trial judge Ahmad Nasfy Yasin found Luqman guilty of murdering Mariah Baharim, 61, (the sister of Luqman’s foster mother), Hassan A Wahab, 70, (Mariah’s husband) and Taufeq Hassan, 22, (Mariah and Hassan’s son) in a house at Jalan Sidang Said in Bertam Malim, Melaka, between 5.50am and 6.15am on Aug 25, 2016.
He was also found guilty of attempting to murder Mariah’s daughters, Noor Haslinda Diyana Hassan, 26, and Nur Aqedah Aeina, 24, at the same place and time.
In his judgment, Nasfy said the court was of the opinion that the actions of the accused were inconsistent with that of an individual who was of unsound mind.
He said the facts revealed that Luqman’s grandmother was left unharmed in the incident and that the accused first attacked the men before turning on his female relatives.
Twenty-five witnesses gave evidence for the prosecution. When defence was called, Luqman remained silent.
The deputy director of Hospital Permai in Johor tendered to the court a report by a psychiatrist who had examined the accused. The psychiatrist has since died.
To plead an unsound mind, an accused must show both legal and medical insanity.
Luqman has the right of final appeal to the Federal Court.
Lawyer Azrul Zulkifli Stork represented Luqman while deputy public prosecutors Nurul Farhana Khalid and Dhiya Syazwani Izyan Mohd Akhir prosecuted.