FOURTEEN men were charged in the Magistrates’ Court in Gurun today with murdering 19-year-old Muhammad Haikal Mohd Shahrilnizam, who police say died after being detained and assaulted for two days over an alleged motorcycle theft.
The accused, aged between 16 and 24 and including two brothers and two minors, nodded to indicate they understood the charge when it was read before Magistrate Anis Suraya Ahmad.
No pleas were recorded as the case falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
They were jointly charged with murdering Muhammad Haikal at a house along Jalan Sungai Petani in Gurun between 9pm on Oct 5 and 7.30am on Oct 8.
The charge was brought under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years and at least 12 strokes of the cane upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Nik Nurhazirah Tuan Yahya led the prosecution, while lawyer Mohamad Ashraf Ahmad Sohaimi represented three of the accused.
The court denied bail to all 14 accused and fixed Dec 23 for mention and the submission of documents.
Kedah police chief Datuk Adzli Abu Shah said the victim had allegedly been accused of stealing a motorcycle, but no police report was lodged against him.
He said the group allegedly took matters into their own hands, apprehending the victim in Pendang on Oct 5 and taking him to a house in Gurun, where he was held for two days.
“During that period, the victim was beaten, tortured and had his hair cut. On the night of Oct 7, he was found dead before his body was callously dumped by the roadside and discovered at about 8am on Oct 8,” he said.
The victim’s body was found near bushes along Jalan Harvard-Gurun on Oct 8 after a member of the public alerted police. A post-mortem found that the cause of death was consistent with multiple injuries caused by blunt-force trauma to the head.
Police arrested 14 local men aged between 16 and 24 in Gurun and Guar Chempedak. They also seized 14 mobile phones, a Honda City, a pair of scissors and the victim’s identity card.
Adzli said only one of the suspects had a previous record involving a drug-related case.
The victim’s mother, Azura Zor, 41, said she had not expected her eldest child, one of four siblings, to be found dead after she had been unable to contact him since late last month.
Adzli urged the public to report thefts and robberies to police instead of taking the law into their own hands.
“Members of the public may help detain suspects in certain circumstances, but such actions must not go beyond the limits and lead to incidents like this,” he said. - October 15, 2026