In a unanimous decision, the panel of three judges, led by Justice Rhodzariah Bujang, dismissed the final appeal by Hazmi Majid, 42, to set aside his conviction and sentence.

“The conviction and sentence are safe. This court upholds the sentence as decided by the Court of Appeal and the High Court,” said Rhodzariah, sitting alongside Justices Abu Bakar Jais and Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera.

Earlier, lawyer T Vijayandran, representing Hazmi, submitted that his client was unaware of his actions because he was under the influence of drugs. Vijayandran asked that the death sentence be commuted to 30 years in prison.

However, deputy public prosecutor Tetralina Ahmed Fauzi rejected the defence’s plea because Hazmi had attempted to dispose of evidence by washing a towel to remove blood stains, showing that he was aware of what had happened.

Tetralina said the case met the requirement of “the rarest of rare cases”, which justified capital punishment.

She said the victim, who only weighed 8.26kg and whose teeth had not yet grown, was taken by her mother to a babysitter’s house on Nov 7, 2018.

Hazmi, the babysitter’s husband, volunteered to bathe the victim that day, and sexually abused her, leading to her death.

On Aug 20, 2021, Hazmi was found guilty by the Shah Alam High Court of killing Nur Muazara Ulfa Zainal, or Zara, in a unit of Pangsapuri Sri Cempaka, Bandar Baru Bangi, between 10.30am and 1.30pm, on Nov 7, 2018.

In March last year, the Court of Appeal upheld the death sentence.