SHAH ALAM: The prosecution in the Cradle Fund chief executive officer Nazrin Hassan’s murder case failed to establish his exact time of death within the 11.30pm June 13 and 4am June 14, 2018, window that it had stipulated.
“The prosecution had said the deceased died within that time but his sister’s (Che Elainee) testimony stated he had seen her message at 11.50pm,’’ said the High Court judge, Datuk Ab Karim Ab Rahman.
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The court also found that the situation at that time did not show that the conduct of the accused, Nazrin’s wife, Samirah Muzzafar, 47, and the two teenagers (now aged 19 and 16), had inflicted injuries which resulted in the death of the victim.
Citing that there were many uncertainties in some of the evidence presented as well as the prosecution’s failure to prove a prima facie case against the accused persons, High Court Judge Datuk Ab Karim Ab Rahman set the trio free yesterday.
He went on to say that the prosecution had also assumed that Samirah and the two youngsters were at the location of Nazrin’s death at the time of his demise.
Another uncertainty in the case, according to Justice Ab Karim, was the lack of clarity in regard to the motive behind Nazrin’s alleged murder.
He said the prosecution had attempted to infer that the alleged murder was motivated by Nazrin’s insurance coverage money, but later in its submission, it (the prosecution) had stated that the motive in the case was not clear.
In addition, Justice Ab Karim also held that there were attempts by the prosecution to implicate Samirah in the alleged murder case with allegations that she did not alert the fire and rescue department (after the bedroom where Nazrin was caught fire) or that she did not appear saddened over her husband’s death.
“Her actions were merely the prosecution’s perception,’’ he said.
The trio and the family’s Indonesian helper, Eka Wahyu Lestari, who is still at large, were charged with Nazrin’s murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code in 2018. Hearing commenced on Sept 6, 2019.
The boys were aged 15 and 11 at the time of the incident.
They were accused of allegedly committing the offence at the deceased’s home in Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, between 11.30pm and 4am the following day on June 13, 2018.
Later that day, as he was leaving the Shah Alam court complex, lead defence counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah said his team was well prepared should the prosecution file an appeal.
“For me, if there is an appeal by the prosecution, I think we are given another opportunity to prove the ingredients or the essence of this charge that can be set aside in this court.
“So, we stand to win, assuming there is an appeal. Because I think the decision will be maintained,” Muhammad Shafee.
On Justice Ab Karim’s contention that the prosecution had failed to determine Nazrin’s exact time of death, Muhammad Shafee said: “The prosecution mentioned between 11.30pm on June 13 till 4.30am the next day.
“So, the judge, when announcing his decision based on the witness testimony of Dr Siew Sheue Feng, (said) that the incident took place between 11am and 1pm on June 14, 2018.
“This is out(side) of the alleged time that was made during the charge,” he said.
Meanwhile, according to a reliable source, the prosecution will refer the matter to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for the next course of action, which includes whether or not to appeal against Justice Ab Karim’s decision.
Besides Muhammad Shafee, others in the defence team were Rahmat Hazlan, LS Leonard, S. Suresh, Savreena Kaur and Zahria Eleena Redza, whilst the DPPs in attendance were Mohd Asnawi Abu Hanipah, Tengku Intan Suraya Tengku Ismail and Nur Sabrina Zubairi.