PUTRAJAYA – The Court of Appeal was today told that there was no direct evidence that showed Samirah Muzaffar and two teenagers murdered Cradle Fund chief executive officer (CEO) Nazrin Hassan.
Counsel Rahmat Mohamed Hazlan, representing the trio said, the learned High Court judge rightfully found that the prosecution’s reliance on the ‘last-seen’ theory was merely based on an assumption which did not amount to proof.
“The prosecution’s theory is that because the accused persons were the last persons seen with the deceased, the onus then shifts on them to offer an explanation to invalidate any indication that they are responsible for the commission of the crime alleged against them,” he said.
According to Rahmat, the accused persons had given a consistent defence despite their statements being recorded numerous times, with two minors having their statements recorded separately in the absence of any adult.
“To the question of when Samirah had last seen Nazrin alive, the woman stated that she last saw him at 9.30am on June 14, 2018, to take her toddler and infant downstairs and had closed the doors without locking them.
“Prior to that, she saw him (Nazrin) at 8.15am, before waking up one of her sons for his archery practice. She had also seen him (Nazrin) at 6.15am, right after having sahur (pre-dawn meal) at 5.25am. This is reflected in her statement recorded three days after the incident, on June 17, 2018,” he said, adding that the statements by both teenagers were consistent with Samirah.
Rahmat also submitted that the last-seen theory should be applied by taking into account the case of the prosecution in its entirety.
“Hence, the court has to not only consider the factum of the last seen, but also has to keep in mind the circumstances that preceded and followed from the point of the deceased being so last seen in the presence of the accused,” he added.
The lawyer contended that the court should also take into account the nature of the relationship between the accused and the deceased.
“If there is evidence of good relationship, the evidence of last seen would remain a mere suspicion and it would not be safe to convict solely on that singular piece of evidence,” he added.
Yesterday, deputy public prosecutor Datuk Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim submitted that Samirah and two teenagers were responsible for Nazrin’s death since they were the last persons seen with the deceased (Nazrin).
A three-judge panel led by Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, sitting together with Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli, set September 19 to continue hearing the submission. – September 5, 2023