KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8* — The Federal Court has upheld the death sentences for former lawyer N. Padmanabhan and plantation worker T. Thilaiyalagan, convicted for the 2010 murder of cosmetic billionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three associates. The court dismissed their application to review the sentences, with Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Man stating that, after considering the case facts, the original judgment would stand.

R. Kathavarayan, another convict, withdrew his review application earlier today.

The murders, which occurred on August 30, 2010, were tied to a land dispute, with Sosilawati and her associates killed at a plantation in Banting. The bodies were later found burned beyond recognition. Despite appeals, the conviction and death sentence were upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2015 and again by the Federal Court in 2017. Evidence, including DNA and witness testimonies, linked the accused to the crime scene.