The High Court today sentenced contract labourer Muidin Maidin, 27, to death for the murder of five-year-old Nurul Nadirah Abdullah or Dirang as she was known.

Judge Datuk Abdul Halim Aman held that the prosecution had proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt and the accused's defence that he did not have a grudge against the victim's family was a mere denial which was unsubstantiated.

Muidin was charged with killing Dirang in an oil palm plantation at Jalan Suria 47, Bandar Seri Alam, Masai here between 11.30 am March 1 and 12 midnight March 2 under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death sentence.

Prior to sentencing, Abdul Halim described Muidin as a vicious criminal, who was heartless and inhumane for committing the crime against a pure and innocent child.

He said the accused's DNA and bits of sarong found on the victim, matching soil samples from his motorbike and soil at the scene and testimonies by witnesses all pointed to him as the perpetrator of the crime.

"The DNA combination found in the victim's private parts and anus could only have been contributed by the victim and accused. The probability of the DNA belonging to the accused and the victim is 700 trillion," he said.

Dirang was reported missing on March 1 last year after she went out to a grocery shop near her house at the Seri Delima Flats, Bandar Seri Alam.

Her disappearance was solved after the Chemist Department carried out a DNA test on the charred remains found in a hole in an abandoned housing site in Nusa Damai, Masai on March 8 and confirmed it was Dirang.

Upon hearing the verdict, Muidin who had appeared calm immediately sat down and started crying.

Three women, believed to be his relatives were also seen crying once the sentence was read out.

On the way to the court lock up he yelled and kicked at the newspaper cameramen to move aside.

Met outside the court, Dirang's mother said she felt relieved that justice had been served and thanked the authorities and everyone concerned for helping her.

The prosecution team was led by Johor Prosecution Unit head Umar Saifuddin Jaafar and deputy public prosecutor Jasmee Hameeza Jaafar while Muidin was represented by lawyers Mohd Daud Ismail, Goh Tse Han and Mohamad Abd Kadir.

Umar Saifuddin later told reporters that forensics evidence played a critical role in the prosecution's success.

"The forensics police worked very hard to collect evidence from the victim's house, its surrounding area and all the way to the spot where her remains were buried. The Chemist Department did a great job too," he said.

A total of 35 prosecution and three defence witnesses testified throughout the four-month trial.