A DEAF and mute disabled man who killed four members of a family in a house fire in Tanjung Sepat, Sepang, Selangor nine years ago, was upheld by the Court of Appeal today.
A three-judge panel chaired by Datuk Noorin Badarudin ruled this after rejecting the appeal of former furniture factory worker Kang Chang Heng, 47, to set aside the conviction and death sentence handed down by the Shah Alam High Court on November 25, 2025.
The screams of the victims trapped in the house as the fire raged was a terrifying moment in the tragedy of the murder of the elderly couple, Chia Tee Nang, 73, and his wife, Lim Mai Shak, 68, who are also the parents of his girlfriend, as well as the couple's two grandchildren, Chia Yuan Bin and Ryan Chia Zeng Xi, aged three and nine respectively.
Even more heartbreaking, one of the couple's grandchildren who survived the slashing, Andrew Chia Zeng Haol, who was 11 years old at the time of the incident, also witnessed his family's home burn and heard the cries of the victims who were unable to escape.
While reading the unanimous verdict, Noorin said that the murder committed by Chang Heng, the appellant, was brutal.
According to her, the evidence in court showed that the appellant attacked Mai Shak while the victim was in a wooden chair.
“The appellant chased and continued to attack the victim even though Mai Shak had fallen.
“He then attacked Andrew by slashing his throat twice before deliberately setting the house on fire,” he said.
Judge Noorin said that as a result of the violent attack, Andrew fainted before regaining consciousness and finding the house on fire.
In the view of the panel of judges, she said that this situation made this case much more serious than ordinary murder cases.
Commenting on the appellant’s status as a deaf and mute individual, Noorin said that this situation was a relevant factor in assessing his personal circumstances and defence.
However, the panel found that the disability did not prevent the man from communicating with others using sign language.
The court also rejected the defence’s argument that the appellant was at the house after receiving information that the house had been set on fire.
Noorin said that the appellant had previously claimed to have borrowed money from an ahlong using the victim’s home address as collateral.
“If it is true that the appellant was there with the intention of rescuing the victim, he could have sought help from the public.
“The court did not consider the deafness and muteness as an aggravating factor, but it was also not enough to mitigate the offence to overcome the extraordinary seriousness of this case,” she said.
Noorin said the appellant himself admitted not to have told his girlfriend, who is also the 22nd prosecution witness, Christina Chia Hui Ling, that he was at the girlfriend’s family’s house on the morning of the incident.
In addition, the appellant also admitted not to have lodged a police report regarding the message he allegedly received from the ahlong and the fire incident.
“We found that the prosecution succeeded in proving all the important elements of all the charges beyond reasonable doubt, so we uphold the death sentence imposed on the appellant,” she said.
The proceedings here were conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor How May Ling while Chang Heng was represented by Jasmine Cheong.
On December 13, 2017, the police believed that a family of four who were found charred in a house fire were murder victims.
Selangor Criminal Investigation Department Chief, SAC Fadzil Ahmat, said that based on initial investigations, there were cut marks on the bodies of the three victims involved.
Following this, Chang Heng was arrested two days later to assist in the investigation.
According to the charge, the man is accused of murdering Tee Nang, Mai Shak, Yuan Bin and Ryan at a house in Jalan Tepi Laut, Tanjung Sepat between 4 and 5 am on December 13, 2017.
The charge was made under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment for between 30 and 40 years and at least 12 strokes of the cane if the death penalty is not imposed.
The court also upheld Chang Heng's nine-year prison sentence for intentionally causing injury to Andrew under Section 324 of the Penal Code.
Previously, on October 19, 2022, the High Court acquitted and discharged Chang Heng of four charges (murder) and one charge (wounding) without ordering him to enter his defence.
Dissatisfied with the decision, the prosecution appealed the decision.
The Court of Appeal on 2 September 2024 overturned the acquittal after finding that the prosecution had succeeded in proving a prima facie case and ordered Chang Heng to enter his defence in the High Court.
On 25 November 2025, the High Court found Chang Heng guilty and sentenced him to death on the charge of murder and to imprisonment for injuring Andrew. – September 4, 2026
