Cradle Fund CEO was dead before the fire, forensic consultant tells court

A forensic consultant told the Shah Alam High Court today that Cradle Fund CEO Nazrin Hassan was already dead before the fire which broke out at his home.

Hospital Kuala Lumpur forensic medicine consultant Dr Siew Sheue Feng said there were no soot injuries or soot inflation, which showed that Nazrin had not breathed in hot air.

“It looked like he already died before the onset of the fire,” Siew, the 46th prosecution witness, said during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Mohd Asnawi Abu Hanifah.

Reading from his witness statement, Siew, who conducted the post-mortem on Nazin at 5pm on June 14, 2018 at the HKL Department of Forensic Medicine, said there was no evidence of laryngeal inhalation injury or soot in the trachea and deeper air passage.

Siew was testifying in the trial of Nazrin’s widow Samirah Muzaffar, 46, and two teenagers, now aged 19 and 16, as well as an Indonesian woman still at large, Eka Wahyu Lestari, who are all charged with murdering Nazrin at his house in Mutiara Damansara, between 11.30pm on June 13, 2018 and 4am the following day.

Siew, who has performed more than 2,000 post-mortems, also listed 16 marks of injury found on Nazrin’s body including a penetrating wound measuring 5cmx4cm at the left parietal region, another penetrating wound measuring 2cmx1cm at the right side of the central forehead, and another measuring 2cmx1.5cm at the upper half of the front of neck.

He also showed and explained more than 100 photographs taken during the post-mortem. As he did, Nazrin’s sister who was in the courtroom could be heard crying.

The trial continues tomorrow before judge Ab Karim Ab Rahman.