Samirah Muzaffar, the first accused in the murder trial of Cradle Fund CEO Nazrin Hassan, made several requests to the police to enter the crime scene after a fire had been put out there, a witness told the High Court in Shah Alam.
- Widow looked uneasy, stepson looked worried, both wanted to go up to the room that caught fire
- Mother and son did not cry
- Samirah had dried blood on her fingers, son’s hand was bleeding
- Widow took foreign currency from the room
- Accused lamented she had no maid, but police believe an Indonesian maid was employed by the family
- Samirah had lodged a police report on foreign banknotes gone missing after the fire
Responding to questions from deputy public prosecutor Wan Shahida Wan Omar, retired police officer Nur Ronal Adnes Amir – the 12th witness in the case – said that Samirah looked uneasy and only wanted to go up to the room, which had earlier caught fire.
Ronal is a former corporal from the Petaling Jaya district police headquarters Mobile Patrol Vehicle unit.
“I met the owner of the house, who was accompanied by two neighbours at the time. She was not stable emotionally.
“She was not crying but so looked uneasy and wanted to go up to the room,” Ronal recalled.
“She asked me if she could go up to see the body of her husband, but she was not allowed because the smoke was still thick,” she added.
Speaking further, Ronal said Samirah was only allowed to go up after the situation was under control, adding that she accompanied the prime suspect into the room.
Ronal said Samirah knelt on the right side of Nazrin’s head for about 10 minutes.
“She moved her body back and forth, but I did not hear if she said anything or cried,” she said.
Samirah then requested a second time to go into the room, this time to collect valuable items belonging to Nazrin, she said.
“Did she tell you what valuable items she needed to collect?” Wan Shahida said.
“I don’t know but I went up with her, she took a bag and she went straight to a small table next to the bed.
“She took something, I was not sure, but she did tell me the item was already broken.
“I am not sure if it was a watch or a smartphone,” Ronal said.
The witness later said that Samirah also took a set of keys and an unspecified amount of foreign currency from the top drawer of a cabinet which was next to a burnt bed in the room where Nazrin was discovered.
“She showed me the notes, but I do not know how much it was. She put the keys and the money inside the bag,” Ronal stated.
“She told me that (one of the keys) was her spare key and said she could not enter the room as the spare key was in the drawer.”
Ronal said Samirah requested to go up for the third time but was not allowed to enter the crime scene.
She added that Samirah then went to take a look at two other rooms upstairs. The accused only opened the doors to check the condition of the rooms and lamented that the house was in a mess.
“She also lamented that she had to do everything on her own because she does not have a maid.”
Ronal earlier testified that Samirah’s fingers had dried blood on it.
“I asked if she was okay. She said it was a small matter and she might have hurt herself when she tried to open the room door.”
Ronal also told the High Court that she saw one of the teenagers accused with murdering Nazrin Hassan bleeding in his hand.
She said she saw the teenager, who she described as lanky, walk up and down the stairs several times.
Ronal said the teenager brought down clothes and diapers the first time.
“When I saw him in the dining room, his hand was bleeding, and he told me he injured himself when he tried to open the door of the room that had caught fire.
“He didn’t look sad and he didn’t cry…there were no tears. He just looked worried and wanted to go up (to the room that caught fire),” she said.
On Wednesday, lead defence counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah asked a witness if he knew that a Tissot watch and some foreign banknotes went missing after the fire.
Firefighter Mohamad Afzan Majid replied that he had no knowledge about the missing items and was not informed about a police report lodged by the accused in connection with this matter.
Earlier, another witness changed his testimony and said it was not holes, but gashes that he saw on Nazrin’s head after the body was found.
Stanley Sigau Nyalang, who was one of the first to see Nazrin’s body in the burnt room, said he wanted to correct what he had said in his witness statement.
The fireman, who is attached to the Damansara Fire and Rescue Department, altered his statement in court when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shahida Wan Omar.
Stanley said he did not touch the gashes or Nazrin’s body in the two minutes he spent in the room with his superior, Tanhoss Bah Agem and another colleague, Muhammad Rezza Rusli.
Later, when cross-examined by Shafee, Stanley said the gashes were similar to what one would suffer when beaten.
However, he agreed with Shafee that this was just an assumption as he had no training in forensics.
Stanley also replied in the affirmative when Shafee asked if Nazrin could have fallen and sustained the gashes.
The trial before Justice Ab Karim Ab Rahman resumes on November 8.
Earlier reports:
Oct 4, 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