Responding to the appeal of the Philippine government, Malaysian authorities postponed the scheduled execution of a Filipino convicted of murder in Sabah, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.
Ejah Bin Jaafar, a Filipino overseas worker who was supposed to be executed on Friday, was spared after Sabah Governor Tun Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Juhad Haji Mahiruddin granted the Philippines’ last-minute appeal to postpone his punishment of death.
The DFA said the execution of Ejah Bin Jaafar was ordered postponed by the Sabah Governor following a last-minute appeal from the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
“We would like to thank the Governor of Sabah for responding to the repeated appeals of the Philippine Government on behalf of the family of Mr. Jaafar,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement.
According to the Philippine Embassy there, the Sabah governor decided to refer Jaafar’s case back to the Sabah Pardons Board for review.
The embassy said that the Sabah Pardons Board which is headed by its Governor is scheduled to meet in December to review the Filipino’s case and decide whether to reduce the sentence to life imprisonment or proceed with the execution.
“The decision of the board will be final and executory without any further possibility of appeal,” the DFA said.Jaafar was convicted for killing Haajan Jaiman, a fellow Filipino 2006. He was found guilty by the Sandakan High Court in the same year of September and was meted the capital punishment in 2009.
The decision was affirmed by both the Court of Appeals on Sept. 19, 2011 and by the Federal Court on Sept. 11, 2013
Since 2015, the Philippine Embassy to Malaysia has been making appeal to Malaysian authorities to spare the life of Jaafar and commute his sentence.
The DFA said that prison authorities had already been informed of the Governor’s decision.
Since his conviction, the DFA has extended legal assistance in all stages of the trial and the “Embassy left no stone unturned to provide assistance to Jaafar, including regular prison visits. His family was also able to visit him through the assistance of the DFA,” the agency said.
The DFA assured that it is ready to provide any further assistance to Jaafar and his family.
Jaafar is one of 88 Filipinos who are on death row worldwide.
In January, Filipina Jakatia Pasa was executed in Kuwait after being accused of killing her employer’s 22 year-old daughter in May 2007.