TAWAU – A police officer testified today in the high court here in the murder trial of e-hailing driver Nurman Bakaratu that a pair of pink children’s shoes were among the items discovered in a white Myvi car he examined on January 17 last year.
Saizul Farhan Mahali, 38, who is a crime scene investigation officer at the Criminal Investigation Department of the Sabah Contingent Police Headquarters, said that besides the shoes found under the rear passenger seat on the left side of the vehicle, sunglasses and a grey towel were also discovered.
According to the 21st prosecution witness, he inspected the vehicle after being informed by investigating officer Yusman Shahri Marinsah about the discovery of a man’s body at Jalan Anjur Juara, Jalan Apas Batu 5, Tawau.
In the previous proceedings, Tawau district police chief Jasmin Hussin told the court that he saw the body (of Nurman) lying on the left side of the white Myvi car.
According to Jasmin, who was the eighth prosecution witness, he went to the scene (oil palm plantation) on January 16, 2023.
Meanwhile, Saizul said he and his team departed for the Tawau district police headquarters (IPD) on January 17, 2023, at 7am and arrived there at 4pm, heading straight to the Tawau IPD parking lot, where they found a vehicle with police barrier tape on it.
“The vehicle was a white Myvi with registration number SAA7841W.
“I was informed by Yusman that the car had been towed from the scene to the Tawau IPD while the body was taken to Tawau Hospital for further action,” he said on the seventh day of the trial for Nurman’s murder, which involved eight accused, including former Eastern Sabah Security Command intelligence chief Datuk Mat Zaki Md Zain, six police officers, and a civilian.
Rosdi Rastam, 45, Denis Anit, 45, Fabian Rungam, 44, Khairul Azman Bakar, 47, Mohd Azlan Sakaran, 40, John Kennedy Sanggah, 44, and Vivien Fabian, 34, are accused of committing the act at an oil palm plantation near Jalan Anjur Juara, Jalan Apas Batu 5, between 7.30pm and 11.30pm on January 13 last year.
They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same code, which carries the death penalty if convicted.
Mat Zaki, 59, is facing two charges of conspiring to kill Nurman, according to Section 109 of the Penal Code read with Section 302 of the same code.
During the examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Lina Hanini Ismail, Saizul said that on that day (January 17), he also conducted blood swabs on the door handle inside the driver’s side of the Myvi and the front passenger seat.
He said he also conducted DNA swabs on the car’s steering wheel, gearshift, and handbrake handle.
According to Saizul, on January 25, 2023, he was once again instructed to examine the car and collected a black slipper on the right side under the driver’s seat, a mineral water bottle, a cap in the pocket of the left rear passenger seat, fingerprint marks on the inner side of the front passenger’s side window, and fingerprint marks on the door frame of the car, in addition to taking images of the entire vehicle.
“All the case items taken were handed over to the investigating officer,” he said.
The trial before judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol continues tomorrow. – January 25, 2024