The complainant in a rape trial has denied suggestions that she consented to sexual intercourse with the accused, Mohd Zulfahimin Mahdzir, identified as an aide of Gombak Setia assemblyperson Hilman Idham.
Under cross-examination from defence counsel Chris Kooi, the 33-year-old disagreed with suggestions that she enticed Zulfahimin into a bedroom at Dorsett Hartamas Kuala Lumpur where the rape incident allegedly took place sometime after midnight on Dec 5, 2020.
“Not with my consent, no! no! no!” she stressed.
Malaysiakini is withholding the witness’ name to protect her identity.
She disagreed with Kooi’s suggestion that there were others in the bedroom who left them alone because of her alleged advances on Zulfahimin, including giving him a lapdance at the karaoke lounge where Hilman hosted her birthday party.
She also insisted she was mostly unconscious from intoxication, and not merely “tipsy” with the ability to initiate alleged sexual acts with Zulfahimin.
The complainant was taking the stand as the fourth prosecution witness in the trial against Zulfahimin at the Kuala Lumpur Criminal Sessions Court.
In her testimony, she identified Zulfahimin as the last person she recalled seeing on top of her body before she passed out in a drunken state.
Throughout the proceeding before Justice Nor Hasniah Abdul Razak, the witness referred to the accused as “Zul” – a person she knew through Hilman as his aide.
“I saw Zul. At that time, I could feel that I was on a bed. I can feel Zul was on top of me,” she said to questions from deputy public prosecutor Zilfinaz Abbas.
She identified the accused, who was present in court today, based on his spectacles, red and blue plaid shirt worn on the night of the alleged incident, as well as his voice.
“I asked, ‘where is Hilman?’ and he (Zulfahimin) said, ‘Hilman is okay’. I recognised his voice.
“I felt my dress was pulled up, Zul turned my body, before I passed out,” she testified.
The complainant told the court how she was introduced to Hilman by a mutual contact, identified as Zaki, and later entered into a “scandal” with the Bersatu politician.
“I say it’s a scandal between the two of us because we met not only once but a few times.
“I also slept with Hilman. Nicknames like ‘sayang’ and ‘baby’…putting our relationship like boyfriend and girlfriend,” she said.
The witness said the birthday celebration started with a dinner followed by a karaoke session at a VVIP lounge, where alcohol was served and she had more than four drinks.
“After the karaoke, there were moments I knew I vomited. Rina helped to wash my face.
“Also, I remember I heard Hilman’s voice. It felt like a very long walk, but I can only recognise his voice and the smell of his perfume,” she said.
“I can’t recall most of it. There were certain moments when I was conscious and others when I was not.
“Like a broken television set, that was how I felt,” said the complainant on moments in the hotel room where she roused at around 4am and found herself alone, naked on a bed.
She also recalled feeling signs of penetration and her clothes were found stashed in a wardrobe, while a used condom was discarded in the hotel’s bathroom.
Zulfahimin was accused of committing the alleged rape in a hotel room in Sri Hartamas on Dec 5, 2020, following a birthday party hosted by Hilman for the complainant.
Last Sept 7, Zulfahimin reportedly claimed trial for the rape charge under Section 376(1) of the Penal Code.
The witness said aside from Hilman and Zulfahimin, two of her best friends since high school – “Mai” and “Rina” – were also invited to the dinner.
The court also heard from the complainant that another man identified as “Adi” was said to have been at the karaoke lounge although she had no memory of his presence.
The charge against Zulfahimin followed the complainant’s decision in January last year to reinstate her initial police report filed on Dec 5, 2020 – about four hours after the alleged incident – and withdrawn three days later.
The witness previously said she reinstated the police report partly because she was informed by friends present at the party of how Hilman had “set up” the bedroom incident.
The hearing continues tomorrow to conclude the cross-examination against the complainant. – Malaysiakini