Apex court affirms death sentence of ex-canteen operator who shot shop owner

 

The accused Anuar Mohamad shot Mustaffa Sidik at Ultra Maju Hardware in Bachok, Kelantan on Feb 5, 2015.

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today affirmed the death penalty for an ex-canteen operator who discharged a firearm and caused the death of a hardware shop proprietor during an armed robbery six years ago.

Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who led a three-member bench, said the conviction was safe after going through the submissions and notes of evidence.

“The identity of the accused was rightly determined by the deceased’s wife,” said Tengku Maimun, who sat with Mohd Zawawi Salleh and Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.

Tengku Maimun said the bench also viewed the feed from the hardware shop’s closed-circuit television and was satisfied the wife was in a position to know the person who fired the shot.

Anuar Mohamad, 43, shot Mustaffa Sidik at Ultra Maju Hardware at Jalan Beris in Bachok, Kelantan at about 5.30pm on Feb 5, 2015.

In the High Court, Anuar was charged under Section 3 of the Firearms (Increased Penalty) Act 1971 for discharging a firearm while committing a scheduled offence, while two accomplices were prosecuted for armed robbery.

The two pleaded guilty to the charge but details of their sentence were not available.

Anuar was sentenced to death by the trial court on June 28, 2018, which was affirmed by the Court of Appeal on Aug 18, 2019.

The facts of the case revealed that the three men, all wearing ski masks, alighted from a car before entering the shop.

Anuar had a pistol while the other two men were armed with parang.

Mustaffa, his daughter and a worker were at the cashier’s counter while the deceased’s wife was at the back of the shop.

All four were grouped together near the counter while the two men went around to take cash and other valuables, including a mobile phone, from the premises.

One of the men then attempted to handcuff Mustaffa and the worker, but was unsuccessful and a struggle ensued.

This led to Anuar discharging the firearm towards Mustaffa in the stomach. He later died in hospital.

Evidence also revealed that the wife managed to pull down Anuar’s mask, which was done in a split second, allowing her to recognise the accused.

Lawyer Hamdan Hamzah represented Anuar while deputy public prosecutor Ku Hayati Ku Haron prosecuted. - FMT