A prosecution witness and a defence lawyer traded barbs in the murder trial of Cradle Fund CEO, Nazrin Hassan, today when the former was accused of fabricating her witness statement.
Former police officer Nur Ronal Adnes Amir lost her cool when lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah accused her of lying.
The incident occurred when Shafee was going through her witness statement on what had transpired on June 14, 2018, the day Nazrin was found dead in his bedroom of his house in Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya.
Nazrin’s wife, Samirah Muzaffar, and two teenagers were charged with his murder.
“In your witness statement, you claimed to be the first officer to assist her (Samirah) up to the room.
“But we have a witness from the Fire and Rescue Department claiming that he was the one who took the accused upstairs to check on her husband.
“I suggest to you that you are lying,” Shafee said sternly.
Nur Ronal disagreed with Shafee and told high court judge Ab Karim Ab Rahman that she went up with Samirah, sat next to her while the accused inspected her husband’s body.
“The firemen arrived before me, so how am I to know how many times Samirah had gone up to the room.
“She may have gone up before me. What I do know, while I was there, I accompanied her up to her room,” said the 38-year-old Nur Ronal, who was then a lance corporal with the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters.
While explaining, Nur Ronal raised her voice in rebutting Shafee’s line of questioning, forcing the lawyer to snap back.
“Don’t fight with me,” said Shafee.
Shafee then asked Nur Ronal to explain her statement in which she claimed Samirah took some foreign currency notes and a bunch of keys from a table near the bed.
Quoting from the statement, Shafee said Nur Ronal had stated that she saw Samirah first take the notes before taking the keys.
“In your statement, you said you saw Samirah take the money and then she grabbed the keys, but when you were asked by the deputy public prosecutor a month ago, you said she took the keys and then the money, which she showed to you.
“Your statement contradicts your answer during the trial,” Shafee added.
Ronal admitted she had made a mistake when preparing the statement and did not realise it.
“I got mixed up. She took the keys first and then the money. I didn’t realise the mistake I made,” she said.
Asked if she was pressured by the investigating officer (IO) when she was writing up her witness statement, the former police officer said she was not pressured by anyone throughout the whole process.
Nur Ronal told the court she had no reason to create stories as she is not related to the victim or the accused.
“I do not know them. I was just there as a police officer. I am not getting anything either,” she said to a question from deputy public prosecutor Wan Shahida Wan Omar.
Nazrin’s case was first classified as “sudden death” but the police later reclassified the case as murder after investigators found traces of petrol in the room.
In the first autopsy, pathologists concluded that Nazrin died of head injuries caused by a handphone which exploded.
A second postmortem revealed that Nazrin sustained head injuries believed to have been caused by a blunt object and wounds on his neck.
Samirah and the teenagers are being defended by a team of seven lawyers led by Shafee.
Trial resumes on November 29. – TMI
Earlier reports:
Nov 8, Cradle Fund CEO Murder Trial: Nazrin’s Body Not Typical of Fire Victim
Oct 3, Fireman: Cradle Fund CEO Had Holes on Head, Fireworks Found in Victim’s Room
Oct 3, Cradle Fund CEO Murder Trial: Samirah’s Son Filed Police Report of Cops Lying to Him
Oct 2, Cradle Fund CEO Murder Trial: Fireman Says Widow Didn’t Seem Sad at His Death
Sept 28, Cradle Fund CEO Murder Trial: Cop Saw Head and Face Injuries on Deceased
Sept 20, Cradle Fund CEO Murder Trial: Public Entered House After Fire
Sept 20, Cradle Fund CEO Murder Trial: Cop Who Received Call on Fire, Photographer Testify
Sept 13, Cradle Fund CEO Murder Trial: Guard Tried to Break Down Bedroom Door
Sept 6, Prosecution to Prove Widow. Stepsons Killed Cradle Fund CEO