TAWAU: A witness told the High Court here today that the late Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan, 17, was challenged to a one-on-one fight in the Belian Dormitory Room 5 at the Lahad Datu Vocational College on the night of March 21.
The 16th prosecution witness (PW16) gave his testimony during questioning by deputy public prosecutor Nur Nisla Abd Latif at the trial before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.
According to the witness, who was also a dormitory resident at the college, the first accused had challenged Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat to a one-on-one fight and instructed him to choose anyone from among them for the fight in the middle of the dormitory room.
The witness said the 11th accused then stepped forward, saying, "Let me fight him," before the two of them fought.
Nur Nisla: Nazmie Aizzat and the 11th accused were fighting, did you see who hit whom?
PW16: Both of them were hitting each other.
Nur Nisla: While the two of them (the 11th accused and Nazmie Aizzat) were fighting, what were the others doing?
PW16: They just stayed quiet, surrounding Nazmie Aizzat and the 11th accused.
However, the witness agreed with the suggestion made by lawyer Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki that the deceased had also punched the 11th accused during the fight.
Kamarudin: Did you see the deceased punch the 11th accused? Can you show us?
PW16: The witness demonstrated how the deceased punched the 11th accused.
Kamarudin: Would you say the deceased was stronger than the 11th accused?
PW16: Not sure.
Kamarudin: Did you know that the 11th accused had a bruise on his left rib?
PW16: I didn't know.
The witness also disagreed with the suggestion by the lawyer that the witness's statement was assisted by the police.
The trial involves 13 teenagers aged 16 to 19, accused of jointly murdering Nazmie Aizzat at the Lahad Datu Vocational College from 9pm on March 21 until 7.38am on March 22.
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, and up to 12 strokes of the cane, if convicted.
Eight of the 13 teenagers are represented by lawyers Datuk Ram Singh, Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki, and Chen Wen Jye, while the remaining five are each represented by lawyers Abdul Ghani Zelika, and appointed lawyers Vivien Thien, Jhesseny P Kang, Kusni Ambotuwo, and Mohamed Zairi Zainal Abidin.
Deputy public prosecutors Nur Nisla Abd Latif, Ng Juhn Tao, and Batrisyia Mohd Khusri are appearing for the prosecution.