Two 'Tuhan Harun' followers escape gallows

Two “Tuhan Harun” followers avoided the hangman’s noose over the murder of a Pahang religious enforcement officer 11 years ago.

A three-person Federal Court bench chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat unanimously swapped the death sentence with 40 years’ imprisonment for Sumustapha Suradi and Shamsinar Abdul Halim.

Today’s hearing was of the duo’s review application against their death sentence.

Islamic Religious Department (Jaip) Enforcement Division principal assistant director Ahmad Raffli Abd Malek, 49, was gunned down outside his house in Bandar Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, on Nov 10, 2013.

Sumustapha (above, left), 49, and Shamsinar (above, right), 47, were sent to the gallows by the Kuantan High Court in 2016 after they were convicted of Raffli’s murder.

The Federal Court upheld their guilty verdict and death sentence in Nov 2018.

  upheld

Cult leader Harun Mat Saat, with the moniker "Tuhan Harun" (God Harun), was also charged with conspiring in the murder. 

However, on Aug 26, 2016, the charge against him was withdrawn after he died at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital 10 days earlier due to respiratory issues.

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