Samirah, teenagers responsible for Cradle Fund CEO's death, prosecution tells court

The Court of Appeal was yesterday told that Samirah Muzaffar and two teenagers were responsible for the death of Cradle Fund CEO Nazrin Hassan.

Deputy public prosecutor Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim submitted that since the three respondents were the last persons seen with Nazrin, it was reasonable to infer that they had the opportunity to kill him.

"In this case, there is no denying that none of the witnesses saw the killing of the deceased. However, the three respondents were the last people seen with the deceased before the deceased was found in the burning room," he said, adding that Samirah had entered Nazrin's room three hours before the fire.

Yusaini was giving his submission in the prosecution's appeal against the decision of the Shah Alam High Court to acquit Samirah, 48, who is also Nazrin's widow, and the two teenagers, who are now aged 20 and 17, of murdering Nazrin.

The court had acquitted and discharged the three after finding that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
 
The trio and an Indonesian woman, Eka Wahyu Lestari, who is still at large, were charged with killing Nazrin, 45, at his house in Mutiara Damansara between 11.30pm on June 13, 2018, and 4am the following day.

Yusaini Amer also submitted that the High Court judge had erred in not finding out who was with Nazrin between 11.30pm on June 13, 2018 and 12.46pm the following day.

"Referring to the testimony by 28th prosecution witness (SP28) Muhammad Nabil Faqih Abdul Rahim, who was the deceased's driver, SP28 stated that he sent the deceased home at 11.30pm on June 13, 2018.

"At that time, certainly all the respondents and Eka were at home and there was no dispute by the defence about this. The next day, the deceased was found dead in the house where all the respondents and Eka Wahyu were," he added.

Yusaini Amer also said Nazrin’s death was due to "blunt injuries" or a "double blunt impact to the head" caused by a blunt weapon such as a hammer.
 
The testimony by investigating officers Abdul Halim Zulkefeli from the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department and Nizam Daud had shown there was no evidence of a break-in at Nazrin's room.

The investigation also found that Nazrin's Blackberry S2 phone had not exploded, and that the fire in the room was deliberately set.

Meanwhile, counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, representing the respondents, submitted that there was no low burn or seeping of petrol in the areas said to have petrol. 

"It was clear from the photos that the areas behind the bed frame and floorboard showed that there were no traces of petrol," he said.

He also submitted that the High Court judge had erred in holding that the fire was intentional and not accidental, and that the cause of death was due to blunt impact and not complications from a blast and blunt penetrating injuries. 
 
A three-judge panel led by Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, sitting together with Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Azhahari Kamal Ramli, will continue hearing the submission today.

On June 23, the Attorney-General's Chambers filed a notice of appeal against the High Court's decision to acquit Samirah and the teenagers of the murder charge.

On June 30, Samirah and the teenagers filed an appeal to challenge certain findings of facts by the High Court, including the findings that the fire that broke out in Nazrin's room was "done deliberately".