I thought it could have been arson, fire officer tells Cradle Fund CEO murder trial
Abdul Halim Zulkefeli says he did not record it in any report because he did not know who the suspect was.
SHAH ALAM: A witness in the murder trial of Cradle Fund chief executive officer Nazrin Hassan said it had occurred to him that the fire in Nazrin’s bedroom was caused by arson.
Selangor Fire and Rescue Department investigations officer Abdul Halim Zulkefeli said he had thought of the matter when he finished his investigation and “handed” the room back to Nazrin’s wife, Samirah Muzaffar, 44, on the day of the fire – June 14.
However, the 15th prosecution witness said he did not record the matter in any report because he did not know who the suspect was.
Asked by Samirah’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, why he had “returned” the room although he had suspected a crime and murder had been committed, he said it was because he had wrapped up his investigation.
Shafee: You told Samirah she can have the room and everything was done. If she wants to clean the room, she can?
Halim: On Bomba’s part, yes.
Shafee: Did you tell the police there was a criminal element?
Halim: I told Sgt Rahim for his action.
Shafee: Did the police tell you not to return the room to the owner yet?
Halim: I am not aware of that.
Shafee questioned Halim’s failure to take samples of the parquet floor for investigation even though he had previously said there were traces of petrol on the bed headboard.
He said if there were traces of petrol as mentioned by Halim, there would have been traces of the fuel on the floor.
Halim said he did not take any sample of the parquet flooring as evidence from the burned spot was sufficient for him to carry out the investigation.
Samirah, a former senior executive at the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), and two teenagers, aged 17 and 14, were charged on March 12 along with Indonesian citizen Eka Wahyu Lestari, who is still at large, with Nazrin’s murder.
They are alleged to have committed the offence at a house in Mutiara Homes, Mutiara Damansara, between 11.30pm on June 13 and 4am the next day, under Section 302 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same Act.
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The trial before Justice Ab Karim Ab Rahman continues on Monday.