Court of Appeal upholds death sentence for deaf, mute man over brutal murder
PUTRAJAYA: A sign language interpreter attracted attention today when she acted as a ‘translator’ for a deaf and mute man facing the death penalty for murdering a family of four in a fire in Tanjung Sepat, Selangor, nine years ago.
In a recent ruling, a three-member panel from the Court of Appeal has upheld the death sentence for Kang Chang Heng, a 47-year-old deaf and mute man, who was convicted of brutally murdering a family of four in Tanjung Sepat, Selangor, nine years ago. The panel, led by Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, unanimously dismissed Kang's appeal to overturn his conviction and sentence.
The tragic incident occurred on December 13, 2017, when the victims, an elderly couple, Chia Tee Nang, 73, and his wife Lim Mai Shak, 68, as well as their two grandchildren, Chia Yuan Bin, 3, and Ryan Chia, 9, perished in a fire at a house in Jalan Tepi Laut, Tanjung Sepat, Kuala Langat. Kang was charged with the murders and also sentenced to nine years in prison for intentionally causing injury to their 11-year-old grandchild, Andrew Chia.
During the appeal, Kang claimed that he had entered the house after hearing that it had already been set on fire. However, the court found no misdirection or misunderstanding of the evidence, and thus upheld the death sentence, stating that Kang's deaf and mute condition did not prevent him from communicating effectively or was not an aggravating factor.
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