THE Shah Alam High Court has dismissed former travel agency manager Hafizul Hawari’s appeal to have his seven-year prison sentence for the 2024 shooting at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) backdated to the date of his arrest.
Judge Datuk Seri Shamsulbahri Ibrahim ruled that Hafizul must begin serving the seven-year term after completing a separate six-year sentence imposed by the Kota Bharu Sessions Court in Kelantan.
In written grounds dated Oct 19, the judge upheld the Sepang Sessions Court’s decision on Dec 5 last year that the sentence for the KLIA shooting would take effect only after Hafizul had completed his existing prison term.
The 39-year-old had pleaded guilty to attempting to murder his wife, Farah Md Isa, 40, and intentionally causing grievous hurt to her bodyguard, Mohd Nur Hadith Zaini, during the shooting at KLIA Terminal 1 on April 14, 2024.
Hafizul was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for attempted murder and seven years for intentionally causing grievous hurt using a dangerous weapon. The two sentences were ordered to run concurrently, with the seven-year term to begin after he completes his six-year sentence for separate offences.
On Feb 24 last year, the Kota Bharu Sessions Court sentenced him to six years in prison for seven offences involving the unlawful possession of an Austrian-made Glock 19 pistol, 33 rounds of ammunition, firecrackers, three identity cards belonging to other people, and driving a vehicle with a false registration number.
That sentence was ordered to run from the date of his arrest on April 15, 2024.
Hafizul filed his appeal on Dec 16 last year, but did not challenge his conviction or the length of his sentence. Instead, he sought to have the KLIA sentence calculated from the date of his arrest.
His lawyer, Nik Mohd Faris Syazwan Zainuzzaman, argued that Hafizul had been continuously remanded without bail from April 15, 2024, until Dec 5 last year, and that the nearly 20 months spent in custody should have been taken into account when determining the sentence's commencement date.
He also submitted that the Sessions Court judge had failed to consider mitigating factors, including Hafizul’s early guilty plea, lack of previous criminal convictions and remorse.
However, Shamsulbahri said an order for a prison sentence to commence from an earlier date was at the discretion of the sentencing judge and was not an automatic right, even where an accused had spent a prolonged period in remand.
He said such a decision depended on the facts of the case, the seriousness of the offence and the public interest.
The judge ruled that the Sessions Court’s order was lawful, fair and consistent with Section 292 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which governs the commencement of sentences for prisoners already serving jail terms.
In the shooting incident, Farah had arrived at KLIA Terminal 1 at 1.09am on April 14, 2024, after performing umrah. She was accompanied by Nur Hadith.
Hafizul, who knew of her return, was waiting near a pillar close to a lift on Level 3 of the terminal before opening fire on both victims.
Nur Hadith shielded Farah and was shot in the abdomen. The bullet penetrated his body and injured his intestines, requiring him to undergo treatment at Cyberjaya Hospital for 13 days.
Hafizul fled the scene but was later arrested in Kota Bharu while driving a vehicle with a false registration number. Identity cards belonging to other people were also found in his possession.
Following his arrest, he was escorted under tight security aboard a police aircraft at Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in Kota Bharu before being flown to the air force base in Subang and taken to the Selangor police headquarters for further investigation.
Deputy public prosecutor Rosnee Mohd Radzuan, from the Selangor Prosecution Director’s Office, appeared for the prosecution. - October 26, 2026
