Contract worker Muidin Maidin has been sentenced to death the High Court here for the murder of 4-year old Nurul Nadirah Abdullah, also known as Dirang, on March 1 last year.
Contract worker Muidin Maidin has been sentenced to death the High Court here for the murder of 4-year old Nurul Nadirah Abdullah, also known as Dirang, on March 1 last year.
Johor Baru High Court judge Datuk Abdul Halim Aman ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against the 26-year old for committing the offence at the oil palm plantation in Jalan Suria 47, Bandar Seri Alam, Nusa Damai, Masai here between 11.30am on March 1 last year and midnight the following day.
Before delivering judgement, Abdul Halim said that Muidin was a threat to humanity as he had caused an innocent child to suffer a most painful death.
"Your DNA (Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid) was found inside the child which meant that there must have been some form of activity, and she must have resisted which explained the signs of pressure on her jaw apparently from your hand trying to stop her screams.
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"After she had lost consciousness from the suffocation, you burnt her body to conceal the evidence.
"There is no punishment other than the mandatory death penalty for this heinous crime," he said.
The judge also asked Muidin on his own response if a young member of his own family had suffered the same fate.
"Or are you devoid of feeling? You are the most cruel of murderers," Abdul Halim said.
The judge's rebuke did not stop there as he went on to tick off Dirang's stepfather, Lima Anak Medeng, 25, for being irresponsible by allowing a young child to go out on her own with a shopping list which he had penned for her to buy the "Mi Sedap" instant noodles and eggs.
"It was early in the morning and both the mother and stepfather were in, yet they allowed the child to go out on her own," he said.
It was reported that it was common for Dirang to go alone to a neighbour's house-cum-shop in the Seri Delima flats to buy groceries.
Abdul Halim said that the forensic evidence had been instrumental in proving Muidin's guilt while the other evidences further strengthened the prosecution's case.
The DNA samples, namely the blood samples taken from the accused and the victim, matched although Muidin had stated in his statement of defence that it was a conspiracy against him.
Besides the DNA match, the soil sample collected from the mudguard of Muidin's motorcycle and produced as one of the exhibits also matched the soil sample taken from the construction site located between Tasik Flora Heights and Taman Nusa Damai, five kilometres from the oil palm plantation.
Dirang's charred remains were found buried in a deep hole.
The prosecution also proved that remnants of the yellow fabric found on Dirang's remains was Muidin's sarong as he only had one sarong, and after the incident, the yellow sarong could no longer be found at his house.
Muidin also did not at any point of time, denied that it was not his sarong.
Muidin's alibi that he was at a friend's house on March 1, 2012 also turned out to be detrimental to the defence when a defence witness testified that he last saw Muidin on Feb 29, which was the day before.
Meanwhile, a prosecution witness also testified that he had seen Muidin, clad in a red T-shirt, coming out of the oil palm estate in Bandar Seri Alam in a helter-skelter manner on March 1.
A total of three defence witnesses and 35 prosecution witnesses were called with a total of 133 exhibits produced.
Head of the Johor prosecution unit Umar Saifuddin Jaafar prosecuted, assisted by deputy public prosecutor Jasmee Hameeza Jaafar. Muidin is represented by lawyers Mohd Daud Ismail and Mohamad Abd Kadir.
Mohd Daud later said they would file an appeal.
