SINGAPORE - The Court of Appeal today affirmed the death sentence imposed on Muhammad Kadar for the 2005 murder of his neighbour.

Muhammad, 38, was sentenced to death in 2009 with his older brother Ismil, 45, for murdering Mdm Tham Weng Kuen, 69, in her Boon Lay flat while robbing her. Mdm Tham, whose bedridden husband was in his room, bled to death from over 110 stab wounds. In 2011, Ismil’s conviction was overturned after the court was convinced that Muhammad was the sole assailant.

After Muhammad’s conviction, changes were made to the Penal Code giving judges the discretion to spare offenders the death penalty for certain categories of murder. Muhammad applied for a clarification that he is guilty of murder under s300(c) – done with the intention of causing bodily injury sufficient to cause death – which would have enabled his case to be remitted back to the High Court for re-sentencing.

But the Court of Appeal ruled today that he had intended to cause Mdm Tham’s death – a category of murder that mandates the death penalty.

The appeal judges noted that Muhammad had intended to silence his victim to prevent her from identifying him, and there was no way he could have done so unless he killed her. The majority of wounds inflicted on Mdm Tham were also to her head and neck, the most vulnerable parts of her body, said Judge of Appeal Andrew Phang, who heard the application with Justice Tay Yong Kwang and Justice Tan Siong Thye.