What happened
Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain was a cadet at Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia, the National Defence University. In May 2017, a group of fellow students accused him of stealing a laptop. The later court record found that he was repeatedly assaulted and subjected to severe burns while being pressured over that accusation.
He was taken to a private clinic twice near the end of May. Medical personnel issued referral letters for hospital treatment, but he was not taken to the referred hospital at those points. On June 1, 2017, Zulfarhan was brought to Serdang Hospital and was pronounced dead.
The High Court verdict
Six former students were prosecuted over Zulfarhan's death. On November 2, 2021, the Kuala Lumpur High Court did not convict them of murder. Instead, it found them guilty under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code — culpable homicide not amounting to murder — and sentenced each to 18 years' imprisonment.
Twelve other former students were convicted of intentionally causing hurt in order to obtain a confession about the alleged laptop theft.
The Court of Appeal changed the result
On July 23, 2024, the Court of Appeal allowed the prosecution's cross-appeal, reinstated the murder charge against the six principal defendants and imposed death sentences. The appellate judges concluded that the prosecution had established the elements of murder under the legal theory before them.
This was not the final result. The six defendants appealed again to Malaysia's Federal Court.
The Federal Court restored culpable homicide
On February 28, 2025, a three-judge Federal Court panel set aside the murder convictions and death sentences. The court held that the prosecution had not proved murder beyond a reasonable doubt, but that the evidence was sufficient for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The Federal Court therefore restored the High Court's original Section 304(a) convictions and 18-year prison terms, calculated from the defendants' arrests in June 2017. Reporting on the judgment noted that ordinary prison-remission rules may affect the actual release date, but remission is not the same thing as a new judicial sentence.
Why the distinction matters
The case has often been described in headlines as a murder case because the Court of Appeal briefly entered murder convictions in 2024. The final appellate position is different. As of the Federal Court's February 2025 ruling, the six principal defendants stand convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, not murder.
That distinction is essential to an accurate case file. It does not diminish the severity of Zulfarhan's death; it records the final legal classification reached by Malaysia's highest court.
Timeline
May 21–22, 2017: Zulfarhan is subjected to repeated abuse by fellow students.
May 27 and 31, 2017: he receives treatment at a private clinic and hospital referral letters are issued.
June 1, 2017: Zulfarhan is brought to Serdang Hospital and dies.
November 2, 2021: six defendants are convicted of culpable homicide and sentenced to 18 years each.
July 23, 2024: the Court of Appeal reinstates murder charges and imposes death sentences.
February 28, 2025: the Federal Court sets aside the murder convictions and restores the 18-year culpable-homicide sentences.
Current status
The case is solved / adjudicated as to the six principal defendants. The Federal Court's February 2025 ruling is the controlling final appellate outcome identified in the reviewed sources.