PUTRAJAYA: A former security guard, Mohd Abbas Danus Baksan, who was found guilty of murdering 10-year-old Nurul Huda Abdul Ghani in Johor four years ago escaped the gallows after the Federal Court here yesterday set aside the conviction and sentence.

The court, however, upheld the 20 years jail and 24 strokes of the rotan imposed by the Johor Baharu Sessions Court for raping the girl, to which he had pleaded guilty.

But he escapes the caning because he is now 52 years old.

In allowing Mohd Abbas’s appeal, Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Zaki Tun Azmi said he agreed with the defence submission that there was a third person involved in the case.

“Therefore all the circumstantial evidence adduced by the prosecution does not irresistibly point to the guilt of the appellant (Mohd Abbas),” he said in reversing the decisions of the Court of Appeal and the High Court.

Sitting together with Justice Zaki were Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff and Federal Court Judge Datuk Aziz Mohamad.

Mohd Abbas looked stunned after the court interpreter explained the decision to him.

The Johor Baharu High Court on Aug 27, 2004, found him guilty of murdering 10-year-old Nurul Huda at the security booth of Tenaga Nasional Berhad’s main sub-station in Kampung Pekajang, Tanjung Kupang, Johor Baharu between 9.20am and 1pm on Jan 17, 2004.

He was also sentenced to 20 years jail and 24 strokes of the rotan by the Johor Baharu Sessions Court on Jan 26, 2004, after he pleaded guilty to raping her.

Nurul Huda’s naked body was found in the toilet of the security booth.

She had earlier gone to a shop about 500 metres from her house to buy some groceries.

Mohd Abbas sought redress from the Federal Court after the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal against the conviction and sentences on July 3, 2006.

Yesterday Mohd Abbas’ counsel, Jagdish Kaur, submitted that there was a third person involved in the case and Mohd Abbas in his evidence had said that he and two other men by the name of Suyaimi Mohd Zin and “Jojo” had raped the girl.

She said that in the original charge at the Magistrate’s Court, it was stated that Mohd Abbas committed the offence with two other men but after the case brought up to the High Court only Mohd Abbas’ name was mentioned.

Yesterday deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Hanafiah Zakaria submitted that the evidence was clear that Mohd Abbas had murdered Nurul Huda as he as the only one working at the security booth and his refusal to allow the police and Nurul Huda’s brother to enter the booth to investigate showed that he was hiding something.

He said the fact that Suyaimi or any other person was not charged together with Mohd Abbas indicated that the prosecution did not have any evidence against them.

Zaki said there were many missing gaps in the prosecution’s case and the prosecution’s investigation was also incomplete.

“It is the prosecution’s burden to prove the murder. The defence’s job is to create the doubt,” he said.

— Bernama