Source: thedailystar.net

The Malaysian High Court on Friday sentenced two immigration officers to death for the murder of a Bangladeshi detainee three years ago.

Judicial Commissioner Abu Bakar Katar handed down the sentence to Aminuddin Mohd Yasin and Zuhairul Effendey Zulkafli, both aged 35, after finding them guilty, reports Malay Mail Online, a Malaysian online newspaper.

The two immigration officers of Malaysia’s Perlis state were charged with murdering undocumented Bangladeshi worker Abu Bakar Siddique, 45, in the pantry of the immigration office at the home ministry complex on October 29, 2014.

Bangladesh High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur Shahidul Islam confirmed the report of the court verdict yesterday.

“We came to know about the verdict but didn’t get any official document in this regard yet,” he told The Daily Star yesterday evening over the phone.

Malay Mail Online adds that Judicial Commissioner Abu Bakar awards the death sentence upon conviction on the charge under section 302 of the Penal code.

The judgment said the court found that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts against the prosecution’s case.

The court had examined all the essence in the prosecution’s case and considered the defence in-depth, it added.

“The prosecution had succeeded in establishing the case, which carries the mandatory death sentence [upon conviction], and all evidence by the defence was merely a denial,” the judge said.

On October 1, 2015, the Kangar High Court had acquitted the two officials of the charge without calling for their defence, and following an appeal by the prosecution, the Court of Appeal ordered the two men to enter their defence on the charge.

According to the facts of the case, Bangladeshi migrant Abu Bakar Siddique complained of gastric and requested for medicine. He was then brought out of the lockup by the duo and taken to the pantry, where, as CCTV footage shows, the two immigration officers were holding long wooden sticks.

After returning to the lockup cell, the detainee told his cellmate that he was beaten by the immigration officers and showed the bruises. There was no sign of injury on the victim’s body when he went to the pantry.

When his condition worsened, he was taken to a hospital where he died on November 4, 2014.

A postmortem found that he died because of “multiple blunt force trauma due to soft tissue injuries”.

Malaysia is one of the popular destinations for Bangladeshis looking for jobs abroad.

Around four lakh Bangladeshis are working in different sectors legally in that country while around two lakh others are without proper documents, according to Bangladesh officials.