SHAH ALAM, May 22 — The 20th prosecution witness in the murder trial of Cradle Fund chief executive officer Nazrin Hassan told the High Court here today that based on its physical condition, the victim’s BlackBerry smartphone did not explode.
Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) Fire Safety Director Edwin Galan Teruki said the matter was confirmed based on their investigations at the scene.
“Investigation into the phone revealed that it did not explode. If the phone exploded, then it would have shattered into pieces or bent.
“The condition of the room (crime scene) also did not look as there was an explosion. If there was (due to explosion of the smartphone), most probably the wall structure in the room would have been damaged,” he said before Judge Datuk Ab Karim Ab Rahman.
The witness was responding to a question by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Asnawi Abu Hanipah on the physical condition of the smartphone.
Prior to this, Selangor Fire and Rescue Department fire investigations officer, Abdul Halim Zulkefeli, who was the 15th prosecution witness confirmed that he had never come across a fire caused by BlackBerry phone explosion.
At the proceeding, Galan also informed the court that he saw white coloured sparks from a photograph taken at the scene.
“The sparks are not from the wall paint but a high heat entity. We found that the sparks were the result of high heat caused by burning petrol, not a mobile phone,” he added.
On August 3, 2018, police classified Nazrin’s death as murder based on the fire department’s report on autopsy results.
On March 12, Nazrin’s wife Samirah Muzaffar, 44, a former senior executive at the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia and two teenagers, aged 17 and 14, were charged, along with Indonesian citizen, Eka Wahyu Lestari, who is still at large, with Nazrin’s murder.
They were alleged to have committed the offence at a house in Mutiara Homes, Mutiara Damansara between 11.30pm on June 13, 2018, and 4am on June 14, 2018.
The hearing continues on June 5. — Bernama
