PUTRAJAYA, March 14 — The Federal Court today reinstated the death penalty for a former lorry driver convicted of murdering his wife and seven-month-old daughter in 2016.

Notably, the decision coincided with Satvender Singh’s 39th birthday.

A three-judge panel comprising Justices Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, Datuk Abu Bakar Jais, and Datuk Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil allowed the prosecution’s appeal to reinstate the High Court’s initial conviction and sentence.

Justice Rhodzariah, delivering the unanimous decision, stated that the death penalty was the appropriate sentence given the gravity of the crime.

She further noted that the case was supported by clear and irrefutable circumstantial evidence, which pointed to Satvender as the perpetrator.

“He was the last person seen with the victims, as confirmed by the testimonies of his immediate neighbours,” she said.

Justice Rhodzariah said the Federal Court concurred with the High Court’s findings that Satvender had staged the crime scene to justify the killings.

She noted that both victims died of asphyxia and were found close to each other. The evidence strongly suggested that a pillow had been used to smother the infant while she was drinking milk.

In August 2021, the Shah Alam High Court sentenced Satvender to death after finding him guilty of murdering his wife, D Kamaljit, 34, and their infant daughter, Ishilyn Kaur Sandhu, at a double-storey terrace house in Taman Rawang Perdana 2, Rawang, between 3.55 am and 4.15 am on April 14, 2016.

However, in November last year, the Court of Appeal overturned his conviction and death sentence for his wife’s murder, reducing it to culpable homicide not amounting to murder and imposed a 20-year prison sentence.

The appellate court also acquitted and discharged him of his daughter’s murder.

The prosecution appealed this decision to the Federal Court, while Satvender filed a cross-appeal seeking acquittal on the manslaughter charge. However, his appeal was dismissed today.

Satvender’s lawyer, Rajpal Singh, requested the court to commute the death sentence to a prison term, citing the recent Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Act 2023.

He submitted that his client was a first-time offender and had already served eight years in prison, adding that today was also Satvender’s birthday.

Deputy public prosecutor Noorhisham Mohd Jaafar urged the court to uphold the death sentence, emphasising that Kamaljit had been strangled, while the infant had died from asphyxia.

He contended that the crime was premeditated, with Satvender staging the crime scene to conceal his actions and mislead the police investigation.

Noorhisham further highlighted that Satvender had subjected Kamaljit to prolonged physical and psychological abuse before her death.

Meanwhile, lawyer S Arvind, holding a watching brief for Kamaljit’s mother, urged the court to reinstate the High Court’s original decision, stating that her death had left an “irreplaceable void” in the family. — Bernama