KOTA KINABALU, Oct 24 — A contractor who is being tried for the 2021 murder of his maid, claimed in his witness statement to the High Court here on Wednesday of the existence of a Dyson vacuum cleaner metal rod used by his ex-wife to injure the deceased.

Mohd Ambree Yunos @ Unos, the first accused in the killing of Nur Afiah Daent Nain who was found dead in a Lido Avenue apartment toilet on December 13, made the claim before the presiding judge Datuk Dr Lim Hock Leng.

The accused was being cross-examined by Datuk Seri Rakhbir Singh, the defence counsel for his ex-wife, former MasterChef Malaysia 2012 finalist Etiqah Siti Nor Ashikeen Mohd Sulong, who is the second accused in the murder trial.

Rakhbir had queried Mohd Ambree on a cautioned statement that the latter had earlier made to police, which alleged that Etiqah had used a "gold-colour, Dyson-brand vacuum cleaner metal rod” to hit their maid, resulting in a bloody injury near her left eye.

"Are you aware that that throughout the prosecution’s case, there was no vacuum rod gold in colour produced by the prosecution?” Rakhbir asked.

"I can explain. It was thrown away in Yu Sang. When me and Etiqah were being investigated by police, she herself pointed to the place where the rod was disposed. Other items were also thrown away there, including a steering wheel lock and a dismantled mop stick,” he answered.

When asked whether he had used the rod to hit the maid and it was he who had thereafter disposed it to avoid authorities tracing back the evidence against him, Mohd Ambree denied.

"During the investigation, we were inside a van when police asked us to come down and show the place where the rod was disposed. The confession was made by Etiqah herself,” he replied.

Mohd Ambree denied the opposing counsel’s question that this claimed attack using the metal rod was his sole allegation of physical abuse by Etiqah against their maid.

He also rejected that his cautioned statement clears Etiqah of having injured the maid, who was better known as Piah and was a MyKad holder, on all other parts of her body.

Rakhbir then put it to the accused that "You are the one that caused all the harm over a continuous period of time against the deceased, resulting in the deceased succumbing to her death,” to which the 43-year-old disagreed.

The court also heard that on the day of the discovery of the maid’s body, which was after Mohd Ambree had returned from a three-day holiday trip to Kundasang with his family, he had poured Dettol and Chlorox all over the bathroom walls as the stench of the dead body was unbearable.

"Did you deliberately empty the bottles of Dettol and Chlorox on the walls to remove traces of your fingerprints?” Rakhbir asked, to which the accused replied no.

Rakhbir then queried on whether the first accused had in the years leading up to the murder, repeatedly physically and emotionally assaulted his ex-wife to the point of her developing chronic depression and panic attacks.

The question had been preceded by another query that three years after the first accused married his now twice-divorced wife in 2017, she had to start seeing a specialist doctor and was prescribed with various drugs such as Xanax.

The accused did not agree to both queries.

To another question, Mohd Ambree responded that Etiqah requesting a divorce from him in 2019 was due to a hatched plan between her and a married doctor, who she had been allegedly having an affair with.

"I put it to you that according to Etiqah, it had dawned on her now that you were slowly trying to kill her as well,” said Rakhbir.

Mohd Ambree replied: "I do not agree.”

The first accused was represented by Datuk Ram Singh, while the second accused by Rakhbir.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Dacia Jane Romanus prosecuted.

The hearing continues on December 11.

Ambree and Etiqah face charges under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the death penalty or a prison sentence of up to 40 years, along with a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction. — The Borneo Post