TAWAU, Jan 25 — A woman confessed in the High Court here that she stabbed her ex-husband, Nurman Bakaratu, with scissors after an argument broke out between them in a Myvi car at a palm oil plantation on the night of January 13 last year.
Nurimah Juli, 35, said on the day of the incident, at around 7pm, she and Nurman, travelling in a white Myvi car driven by the deceased, went to a palm oil plantation which is located 25 minutes from a hotel here to discuss their marriage.
“I asked the late Nurman to go to the plantation and he asked ‘what’ and ‘who’ was there. I asked, “You really wanted to marry me?” and he said, “Yes, I wanted to marry you”. We continued driving to the plantation and on the way, we argued because he said he didn’t see who was my ‘wali’ (guardian) (to remarry).
“I used Google Maps to get there and we arrived at the palm oil plantation around 8pm. When entering the junction at the palm oil plantation, I chose the road on the left and we stopped there. At that time he was angry and said, “You just wanted to fool around”. I tried to press the maps but I couldn’t. I moved from the front passenger seat to the back seat.
“When we got to a place with a big tree, he slapped me. I tried to fight back. He said, “You’re lying. You don’t want us to remarry”. He then wanted us to turn around as there was a dead end.
“He tried to turn around and hit me. I just couldn’t control my emotions and grabbed the scissors in my bag and stabbed him. Nobody was there,” she said during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Rohaiza Abd Rahman before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.
The 23rd prosecution witness said this during the eighth day of the trial of the murder of Nurman, 61, involving eight accused, namely former Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCom) Intelligence chief Datuk Mat Zaki Md Zain, six policemen 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 here between 7.30and 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 law which carries the death penalty if convicted.
Mat Zaki, 59, is facing two charges of conspiring to kill Nurman, and the charges are framed under Section 109 of the Penal Code read with Section 302 of the same law.
Questioned by Rohaiza on the purpose of her bringing the deceased to the palm oil plantation, Nurimah replied, “At that time I was not sure what my real purpose was but he insisted on us to remarry and asked for a family guardian, so I didn’t know what to do and we argued in the car.
The witness also said that on January 12, 2023, the deceased called and asked to meet up, to return the phone that he took from her on January 9 at a club in Lahad Datu.
“He also begged for reconciliation and wanted us to remarry. I agreed and suggested that we go to Tawau. We arrived in Tawau on January 12 and the next day, the deceased took me out to buy a wedding dress and a ring,” said Nurimah who was married to Nurman in 2017 before divorcing in 2021.
When asked by Rohaiza about the relationship between the witness and Nurman after the divorce, the woman replied, “Our relationship was not good and after the divorce, Nurman still followed me wherever I work.
Mat Zaki and seven others were discharged and acquitted by the court today after the prosecution announced that they were dropping the case, following their key witness Nurimah’s testimony that she killed Nurman. — Bernama
