A former excavator driver escaped the death penalty after the Federal Court commuted his sentence to 38 years in prison and 12 strokes of the cane for killing a woman 16 years ago.

The case is one of the 28 cases reviewed during the Federal Court of Malaysia Conference held at the Kota Bharu High Court today, which also involved cases in east coast states.

In today’s proceedings, a three-judge panel led by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat granted the review application of Zulhisham Fadly Mohamad...