Malaysia Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Right to life (article 5)

Legal area

Court

22 Apr 2026

KUMANAAN A/L ANTHONY VINCENT PEGUAM PEMERHATI Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (SUHAKAM) AMICUS CURIAE Collin Arvind Andrew

Citation

07-24-11/2024(W) (Mahkamah Persekutuan)
Court

W
Case number

07-24-11/2024(W) (Mahkamah Persekutuan)

Applications dismissed: applicants failed to discharge burden to prove whipping provisions unconstitutional under Art 5(1) and Art 8(1); no admissible medical evidence established causal link between whipping and Zaidi's death or that whipping would risk the applicants' lives; impugned provisions are post‑Merdeka and survive Art 4(1) review; statutory safeguards and proportionality satisfy constitutional requirements; Art 8(2) challenge fails.
22 Apr 2026

MOHD HELMI ANUAR BIN MOHD KASSIM PEGUAM PEMERHATI Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia (SUHAKAM) AMICUS CURIAE Collin Arvind Andrew

Citation

07-23-11/2024(W) (Mahkamah Persekutuan)
Court

W
Case number

07-23-11/2024(W) (Mahkamah Persekutuan)

Judgment: Judicial whipping as provided under the Criminal Procedure Code and federal penal statutes is unconstitutional insofar as it violates Article 5(1) and Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution and is inconsistent with Malaysia's commitment to the UDHR and customary international prohibitions on torture/CIDT; the Federal Court will exercise its Rule 137 inherent jurisdiction in this rare case to declare those provisions void prospectively and to prohibit execution or future imposition of judicial whipping under federal law.
22 Mar 2021

Koperal Zainal bin Mohd Ali & 6 ors Selvi A/P Narayan & 1 ors

Citation

01(f)-2-01/2018(W) (Mahkamah Persekutuan)
Court

f
Case number

01(f)-2-01/2018(W) (Mahkamah Persekutuan)

s8(2) of the Civil Law Act 1956 bars the award of exemplary damages in estate claims; that prohibition is not displaced by Article 5(1) or read down via Article 162(6) absent a direct inconsistency warranting modification; where death occurs in custody and the estate cannot recover exemplary damages, aggravated damages are an appropriate and available remedy to reflect the gravity of conduct and compensate the estate.

Malaysia Case Law

KUMANAAN A/L ANTHONY VINCENT PEGUAM PEMERHATI Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia (SUHAKAM) AMICUS CURIAE Collin Arvind Andrew

MOHD HELMI ANUAR BIN MOHD KASSIM PEGUAM PEMERHATI Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia (SUHAKAM) AMICUS CURIAE Collin Arvind Andrew

Koperal Zainal bin Mohd Ali & 6 ors Selvi A/P Narayan & 1 ors