The murderer of an Aussie businessman had his death sentence reduced to only a 35-year imprisonment.

This was confirmed by a three-member bench, which was chaired by Justice Zabariah Yusof in Malaysia.

Murderer of Aussie Businessman Had His Death Sentence Reduced

According to Free Malaysia Today's latest report, Justice Zabariah Yusof ordered 39-year-old Low Kian Boon to be given 12 strokes of the rotan for killing German-born Australian businessman Hans Herzog.

She also ordered the murderer's 35-year imprisonment to start from the date he was arrested for killing the entrepreneur. This means that his jail term will start from November 13, 2003 onwards.

The decision to commute his death sentence comes after the mandatory death penalty in Malaysia was abolished in 2023. The murder case of the Aussie businessman was brought under the Revision of the Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life Act 2023.

Because of this, Low's lawyer argued that his client should be given a jail term of between 30 to 32 years. He added that the Low had been in prison for over 20 years.

Human rights lawyer Edmund Bon said that the death penalty should only be used for serial killers, rapists, murderers of babies, and other rarest of cases.

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Death of Aussie Businessman

In 2003, The Sydney Morning Herald reported that four Malaysian teenagers were charged with murdering Hans Herzog. The suspects were two sisters aged 16 and 17, Low Kian Boon who was only 18 during the time of the murder, and another 17-year-old boy.

Authorities said that the incident happened when the Aussie businessman checked their stepdaughter's room after his wife heard some noises at midnight.

When Herzog was investigating the noises, he was cut on the face. He had his right arm almost severed as well. When the police arrived at the scene, they found a long-bladed knife called "parang."

The teenage suspects were arrested shortly after attacking the Aussie businessman.

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