By Dorcas Ting
KUCHING, Sept 23: A pharmacist convicted of murdering his wife in 2018 has lost his final legal bid after the Federal Court today upheld the death penalty imposed on him.
A three-judge panel led by Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang ruled unanimously against 48-year-old Wong Zing Haw, concluding that the case involved one of the most serious forms of homicide—the murder of his own spouse. Also on the bench were Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Lee Swee Seng.
The judges said that while the case relied on circumstantial evidence, the chain of proof was strong and consistent, leaving no room for reasonable doubt. They found Wong’s defence to be nothing more than an unsubstantiated denial.
The court also addressed recent legislative changes that abolished the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia. However, the panel stressed that Wong’s crime fell within the ‘worst category of cases’, making capital punishment the appropriate sentence.
Earlier, Wong’s lawyer, Orlando Chua, urged the court to consider life imprisonment instead, citing the 2023 law reforms as a step towards a more humane justice system.
He argued that Wong did not plan the killing, claiming the incident stemmed from an intention to cause injury rather than death.
Prosecutor Mohd Zain Ibrahim opposed the appeal, asserting that the evidence pointed to deliberate murder. He highlighted the victim’s severe injuries, Wong’s disposal of the remains, his fabricated claim that his wife had gone missing, and even handwritten notes on concealing decomposition odours, as signs of careful planning.
Mohd Zain said the cruelty of the act and the efforts to cover it up show clear intent, and that the punishment must reflect the gravity of the crime.
Wong was found guilty under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
His wife, Chinese national Yang Xi, 31, was last seen in late February 2018. Days later, her severed head was discovered by a riverbank in Sri Aman, but the rest of her body was never recovered. Police arrested Wong after inconsistencies emerged in his account of her disappearance.
The couple had been married since 2011 and had two children together. — DayakDaily
