Malaysia
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · The death penalty is provided for by various laws
- News items in the archive
- 972
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Malaysia is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 972 news items on Malaysia, from 1999 to today.
In Malaysia the death penalty was mandatory for certain offences, among them drug trafficking. A reform in 2023 abolished that mandatory character and opened the review of sentences already handed down, many of which have been commuted. The method is hanging.
The archive follows the reform, the reviews and the cases still open.
Latest news
- JANUARY 27, 2005PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
Filipino Nelson Tanoja Diana, 50, was sentenced to death
Filipino Nelson Tanoja Diana, 50, was sentenced to death
- JANUARY 24, 2005MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Liew Chee Hong, a mosaic layer convicted of trafficking...
Liew Chee Hong, a mosaic layer convicted of trafficking...
- JANUARY 1, 2005MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
In Malaysia capital crimes include murder, rape, drug crimes, treason and possession of arms.
In Malaysia capital crimes include murder, rape, drug crimes, treason and possession of arms.
- DECEMBER 15, 2004IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
Nasaruddin Daud, 23 and Azhar Nordin, 29, two former members of...
Nasaruddin Daud, 23 and Azhar Nordin, 29, two former members of...
- NOVEMBER 8, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Mat Yazid Mat Akil, a 67-year-old school security guard ,was sentenced to death
Mat Yazid Mat Akil, a 67-year-old school security guard ,was sentenced to death
- NOVEMBER 5, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Herlina Trisnawati, a 22-year-old Indonesian maid,...
Herlina Trisnawati, a 22-year-old Indonesian maid, was sentenced to death by hanging in Malaysia for murdering her female employer after an argument over burnt curry
- OCTOBER 12, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Zulkipli Othman, 30, of Terengganu, was sentenced to...
Zulkipli Othman, 30, of Terengganu, was sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court after being found guilty of trafficking in 237
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
A lorry driver was sentenced to death by the High Court...
A lorry driver was sentenced to death by the High Court in Bernama, Malaysia, for trafficking in 874
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
A Court of Appeal in Malaysia upheld the death sentence...
A Court of Appeal in Malaysia upheld the death sentence of Msimanga Lesaly, a 37-year-old Nigerian businesswoman, for drug trafficking
- AUGUST 27, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The High Court in Johor Baru, Malaysia sentenced former...
The High Court in Johor Baru, Malaysia sentenced former security guard Mohd Abbas Danus Baksan, 47, to death by hanging after finding him guilty of murdering 10-year-old Nurul Huda Gani on Jan
- JUNE 11, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Tan Chee Wee, a 30 year old Malaysian who bludgeoned...
Tan Chee Wee, a 30 year old Malaysian who bludgeoned his friend's wife to death in 2003 was hanged in Changi Prison in Singapore
- MAY 24, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The Federal Court of Malaysia commuted the death sentence...
The Federal Court of Malaysia commuted the death sentence imposed on K
- MAY 21, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Adnan Mat Jusoh was sentenced to death by the High...
Adnan Mat Jusoh was sentenced to death by the High Court of Malaysia after being found guilty of killing his girlfriend in
- APRIL 19, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Japan's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed...
Japan's Supreme Court upheld the death sentence imposed on Wong Yeesun, a 35-year-old Malaysian national convicted of killing three people and injuring another during robberies in four prefectures in Japan in 1993
- APRIL 12, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
In Malaysia capital crimes include murder, rape, drug crimes, treason and possession of arms.
In Malaysia capital crimes include murder, rape, drug crimes, treason and possession of arms.
- MARCH 30, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Mohamad Sofri Che Ani, was sentenced to death by the...
Mohamad Sofri Che Ani, was sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court for trafficking in 3,632gm of cannabis
- FEBRUARY 11, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Hamsir Md Rashid, a 32-year-old postman, was sentenced...
Hamsir Md Rashid, a 32-year-old postman, was sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court after he was found guilty of trafficking in 366
- JANUARY 28, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The Malaysian Cabinet gave the green light for the...
The Malaysian Cabinet gave the green light for the amendment of Section 376 of the Penal Code in order to allow the imposition of mandatory death sentences for rapists who cause the death of their victims
- JANUARY 19, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The relevant Malaysian authorities must find alternative...
The relevant Malaysian authorities must find alternative actions to supersede capital punishment imposed for certain crimes in the country, Parliamentary Secretary to the National Unity and Social Development Ministry Datuk Veerasingam said
- JANUARY 1, 2004MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Zarimy Ahmad, 22, and Azrul Ahmad, 23 charged with...
Zarimy Ahmad, 22, and Azrul Ahmad, 23 charged with murdering a factory manager in 2000, escaped the gallows after the Malaysian High Court found them guilty of a lesser charge
- DECEMBER 30, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The High Court sentenced to death a 28-year-old father...
The High Court sentenced to death a 28-year-old father of three after finding him guilty of murdering a 30-year-old waiter
- DECEMBER 11, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Low Soo Song, a 51 year old unemployed man, was sentenced...
Low Soo Song, a 51 year old unemployed man, was sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court for discharging a shot from a firearm while committing robbery
- NOVEMBER 11, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
A total of 121 death row convicts were awaiting execution...
A total of 121 death row convicts were awaiting execution in prisons nationwide, the Malaysian Senate was told
- OCTOBER 29, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
M. Kathavarayan, 54, was sentenced to death by the...
M. Kathavarayan, 54, was sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court for trafficking 937.8g of cannabis
- OCTOBER 29, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he rejected...
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said he rejected Islamic criminal laws prescribing amputations and death by stoning introduced by the hardline Islamic Party in the country's north-eastern Terengganu state
- SEPTEMBER 26, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Singapore executed two convicted Malaysian heroin traffickers...
Singapore executed two convicted Malaysian heroin traffickers despite protests by human rights group Amnesty International
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The Malaysian Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged...
The Malaysian Court of Appeal acquitted and discharged five men who appealed against their conviction and death sentence for the 26 July 1998 murder of A
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Teh Hock Leong, a 33 year old private transport operator,...
Teh Hock Leong, a 33 year old private transport operator, was sentenced to death by the High Court in Malaysia after he was found guilty of trafficking in 580
- SEPTEMBER 5, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The Court of Appeal in Malaysia upheld the conviction...
The Court of Appeal in Malaysia upheld the conviction and death sentence imposed on Emmanuel Yaw Teiku, a 43 year old Ghanian national, by the Alor Star High Court on July 24, 2001, for trafficking in more than half a kilogramme of heroin into Malaysia in
- AUGUST 30, 2003MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
Jefri Ibrahim, a 26 year old welder, was sentenced...
Jefri Ibrahim, a 26 year old welder, was sentenced to death by the Malaysian High Court for trafficking 1,7 kg of cannabis on August 10, 2001