Former MasterChef Malaysia finalist jailed for murdering maid after forcibly extracting her teeth with pliers

Etiqah Siti Noorashikeen Sulang, 37, and Mohammad Ambree Yunos, 44, were convicted by the High Court in Kota Kinabalu for killing Nur Afiyah Daeng Damin, 28, between December 8 and 11, 2021, at their condominium in Amber Tower, Penampang, Sabah, East Malaysia.

Justice Datuk Dr Lim Hock Leng found that the couple had acted with common intent and inflicted fatal injuries on the victim. He ordered the jail terms to begin immediately. Ambree was also sentenced to 12 strokes of the cane, while Etiqah was spared the whipping due to her gender.

“The defence failed to raise reasonable doubt,” the judge said. “The prosecution had successfully proven that the victim's injuries were intentional and jointly caused.”

The couple was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34, which carries the death penalty or between 30 to 40 years’ imprisonment and not less than 12 strokes of the cane upon conviction.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Dacia Jane Romanus called for the maximum sentence, saying: “The deceased was a young woman who left her hometown for honest work amid the pandemic, but ended up losing her life at her workplace.” She added that the maid had suffered daily abuse, been denied her wages, and was not allowed to return home.

Testimony from Dr Norhayati Jaffar, a forensic odontologist with the Kuala Lumpur Hospital, revealed that Nur Afiyah suffered horrifying injuries prior to her death, consistent with prolonged torture and physical abuse.

The post-mortem revealed eight soft tissue injuries to her lips and mouth, along with trauma to six front teeth. Two of these, her upper left incisors, were found to have been forcibly gripped and partially extracted, likely using non-medical tools such as a pair of pliers.

“This incident likely caused severe pain to the deceased, particularly in the absence of local anaesthesia,” Dr Norhayati testified. “The level of pain experienced by the deceased in this case was 10 out of 10.”

The witness concluded that the injuries occurred close to the time of death, with no signs of healing observed. She said the injuries were “not consistent with accidental trauma” but instead indicated “an attempt to forcibly extract these teeth,” adding that “the torn gums also indicate that these injuries likely occurred close to the time of death.”

The court also heard that the victim was subjected to other forms of physical assault, and a prolonged pattern of abuse was established through medical evidence and witness testimony.

The case has drawn widespread outrage in Malaysia and Indonesia. Prosecutors said the brutality of the abuse had shocked the nation. The court noted that the convicted pair continued to live at the residence while the victim was subjected to daily torture, and they took no steps to seek medical help.

The couple were first charged in November 2022 and had pleaded not guilty. During the lengthy trial, more than a dozen witnesses, including medical experts and police investigators, testified to the systematic nature of the abuse.