The panel – comprising Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat and Federal Court judges Nordin Hassan and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera – granted Ailias Yahya and Saiful Azlan Shah Abdullah’s review applications under the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life (Temporary Jurisdiction of the Federal Court) Act 2023.
The pair, who have served 18 years and three months in prison, were ordered to serve the remainder of their sentences from the date of their arrest on Jan 22, 2006, Bernama reported.
The court had earlier rejected deputy public prosecutor Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi’s request to uphold the death sentence because their case fell under the “rarest of the rare category”.
Tetralina told the court that the deceased, Yusrizal Yusuf, 38, was under the full control of the two defendants at all times, from the time of his arrest until his death.
She said Yusrizal was shot “execution style” when he was brought to an open field at KM 22, on the Kuala Lumpur-Kuala Selangor-Batu Arang road, in Gombak, Selangor.
She added that he was handcuffed and was told to kneel down, then Saiful Azlan fired three shots to his head at close range while Ailias stood in front of the deceased.
Lawyer Fadhli Sutris, representing Ailias and Saiful Azlan, asked the court to give his clients a second chance, saying that Ailias was suffering from a chronic disease and was wheelchair-bound, while Saiful Azlan had been admitted to intensive care several times.
He said Ailias had been a policeman since 1976 and Saiful Azlan since 1982, adding that they regretted their crime and asked for mercy from the court because they wanted to meet their families.
Ailias, 70, a former corporal, and Saiful Azlan, 60, a former lance corporal, were sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court in 2011 for killing Yusrizal between 10pm and 11.30pm on Jan 13, 2006.
The decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court.
According to the facts of the case, Yusrizal was alleged to have had an affair with the wife of a man, who subsequently lodged a police report after being allegedly threatened by Yusrizal.