Leaked pictures of Bella’s injuries not from police, court told

A police officer told the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court today that photographs showing the injuries inflicted on Bella, a 13-year-old girl with Down syndrome, which were posted on the Facebook page of a women’s rights activist, were not leaked by the police.

Mior Samsul Abdul Rahman, an analyst at the audio video investigation unit of the forensic laboratory, said he did not know where the activist, Mona Din, obtained the pictures posted on her Facebook account on Aug 12, 2021.

When asked by lawyer Asiah Abd Jalil, representing Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali, if the pictures were leaked by Mona Din from a mobile phone in police custody, he said he did not know.

Asiah: I put it to you that when the inspector was analysing the contents of the mobile phone and completing a report on Aug 9, 2021, the mobile phone was with the police at all times. Agree?

Mior: Yes, the mobile phone was with me all the time.

However, he disagreed with Asiah’s suggestion that there were other officers besides him who had handled the mobile phone and leaked the pictures to the public.

Earlier, Mior, who is the 10th prosecution witness, said all of the case items were analysed according to the stipulated procedures and that the equipment used to analyse the items was in good condition.

Mior, in his witness statement, said that on July 22, 2021, he received an application for an analysis to be conducted on the case and received an iPhone with a Maxis SIM card sent by one Inspector Suhaili Mahad.

He said the request was from an investigating officer on the injuries as seen in photographs taken from videos dated June 24, 2021.

Siti Bainun, 30, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of neglecting and abusing Bella, to the point of causing the girl to suffer physical and emotional injuries.

She was charged with committing the act at a condominium in Wangsa Maju between February and June 2021 under Section 31 (1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which provides for a maximum jail term of 20 years, a fine of RM50,000 or both, upon conviction.

The trial before judge Izralizam Sanusi continues.