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Ahmad Najib Aris, convicted of the rape and murder of IT analyst Canny Ong six years ago, lost his final appeal against conviction. The former aircraft cleaning supervisor next appointment will be with the hangman.




From TheStar
Canny Ong’s killer to hang, Ahmad Najib loses final appeal

PUTRAJAYA: Ahmad Najib Aris, convicted of the rape and murder of IT analyst Canny Ong Lay Kian six years ago, lost his final appeal against conviction.

It’s the gallows next for the former aircraft cleaning supervisor.

This follows a unanimous decision by the Federal Court to uphold his death sentence for the crimes committed on Ong, whose charred remains were found in a manhole near a highway construction site in 2003.

Federal Court Judge Zulkefli Ahmad Makinuddin who read the judgment, said the court was satisfied there was circumstantial evidence and evidence in its entirety to come to the conclusion that it was Ahmad Najib, 33, and no one else who was responsible for what happened to Ong that night.

The appeal was heard before a five-man bench comprising Chief Judge of Malaya Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court Justices Nik Hashim Nik Ab Rahman, S. Augustine Paul, Hashim Yusoff and Zulkefli.

In his 47-page judgment, Justice Zulkefli said evidence by relevant prosecution witnesses also showed that Ahmad Najib was seen with Ong at various places that night.

Justice Zulkefli said the Court of Appeal had made a correct finding in relying on the chemist’s report that the circumstantial evidence, including the discovery of Ong’s bloodstains on the trousers found in Ahmad Najib’s house, pointed to the fact that no one else, except Ahmad Najib, was responsible for what happened to the victim.

Justice Zulkefli affirmed the conviction and death sentence by the High Court which had also been affirmed by the Court of Appeal.

He said the Court of Appeal was right in accepting the High Court’s decision that Ahmad Najib was seen at the various scenes or locations and was found to have been with Ong at 7th Mile, Jalan Klang Lama, between 1am and 5am on June 14, 2003.

Zulkefli said a DNA test confirmed Ahmad Najib’s semen in Ong’s vagina which proved that he had intercourse with the victim.

“The contents of the chemist’s report have the direct effect of linking the appellant (Ahmad Najib) to the commission of the rape and murder of the deceased (Ong),” he said.

Ahmad Najib, wearing a black and white short-sleeved shirt and black trousers, was composed when the verdict was announced.

After the proceedings, Ahmad Najib, who was accompanied by his mother, Rapipah Ahmad, and youngest sister Suhana, was asked to comment on the court’s decision.

He said: “I had expected this decision.”— Bernama

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