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Asian Angle | A Malaysian tragedy: The torture and murder of cadet Zulfarhan Osman

Parents seek answers in the death of son, who was burnt with a steam iron and beaten before succumbing to his injuries more than a week later

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Hawa Osman, 54, and Zulkarnain Idros, 53, are determined to attend all court sessions to find the truth about their son’s death. Photo: Handout

At 11.30pm on June 1, Zulkarnain Idros, a 53-year-old taxi driver, received a phone call.

It was an officer from the National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) – the military college where his eldest son, Zulfarhan Osman, 21, was attending, hoping to obtain a Navy commission.

“Your son has died,” he told Zulkarnain.

There was a long pause.

“What happened?”

“He was burnt to death.”

When Hawa Osman, Zulkarnain’s 54-year-old wife, heard the news, she broke into tears. “Allah, my son …”

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