TAWAU: A witness from the Lahad Datu Vocational College told the High Court here yesterday that he was prevented by the 13 defendants from meeting the warden to report the incident where the late Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan, 17, was beaten.
The 13th prosecution witness (PW13) gave his testimony during the re-examination session led by deputy public prosecutor Ng Juhn Tao at the trial before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.
Earlier, the witness disagreed with questions from lawyer Mohamed Zairi Zainal Abidin, denying that his statement regarding the matter was fabricated.
He insisted that he was prevented from meeting the warden to make a report.
Zairi: I told you that this was just your excuse, because at the time you could have just run and made a report to the warden, then come back to Dorm 5 Belian to see what happened, correct?
PW13: I disagree.
Zairi: If that's your answer, do you agree that someone blocked you from meeting the warden?
PW13: Agree.
Zairi: Who?
PW13: Them, 13 people.
However, the witness also informed the court that he did not include the details about being prevented from meeting the warden in his witness statement.
According to the same witness, around 10pm on March 21, he was in his friend's room on the second floor before returning to his own room on the fifth floor. He had seen several roommates playing on their phones.
He said not long after, a group of students, including the first defendant and several others (the 11th, seventh, ninth, fifth, sixth, eighth, fourth, and 13th defendants), entered the room and surrounded Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat in the middle of the room.
"At that time, I saw the first defendant talking to Aizzat, but I couldn't hear what was being said before they started fighting one-on-one, followed by the 11th defendant, who also fought with Aizzat," he said.
He added that shortly after (between 5 to 10 minutes), the second defendant, along with another student (PW14), entered the room and asked what was happening before hearing someone tell the first defendant that Aizzat had stolen something. The second defendant then ordered all the room occupants to leave, except for Aizzat.
"I went out and sat by the stairs next to the bathroom and Dorm 7 Belian while using my phone (browsing TikTok), but returned to the room when I heard a loud noise, like the sound of a locker being hit with a hard object, and saw the second defendant hitting Aizzat on his back and sides," he added.
"Then I saw the second defendant grab Aizzat's hand and pull him out of the room to have a shower in the bathroom. After that, I lay on my bed and fell asleep," he continued.
The trial involves 13 teenagers aged 16 to 19, accused of jointly murdering Mohamad Nazmie at the Lahad Datu Vocational College.
They are charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same code, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment for 30 to 40 years, along with no more than 12 strokes of the cane, if convicted.