IPOH: The officer who investigated the alleged murder of teenager Muhammad Zaharif Affendi Muhd Zamrie by a senior police officer denied that the accused was charged immediately after the case went viral on social media.
Assistant Superintendent Chua Sze Yuan, the 32nd prosecution witness said this when questioned during cross-examination by defence lawyer Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid before judge Datuk Bhupindar Singh Gucharan Singh Preet.
He was testifying at the trial of Mohd Nazri Abdul Razak, a deputy superintendent charged with Zaharif's murder in Jalan Taman Jati 1, near SMK Jati, between 11.45am and 12.32pm on Dec 15, 2023.
Mior: Do you agree that the Traffic Enforcement and Investigation Department (TEID) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are different departments?
Chua: Agree.
Mior: Do you agree that you took over the investigation on Dec 16, 2023?
Chua: Agree.
Mior: Do you agree that there were public and student witnesses who lodged police reports on the same day as the incident and the following day?
Chua: Agree.
Mior: Do you agree that all the reports lodged at the Ipoh police headquarters were referred to TEID?
Chua: Agree.
Mior: Do you agree that the reports have never been referred to the Criminal Investigation Department?
Chua: Agree.
Mior: When the accused was charged in court, was the situation intense due to the presence of the deceased's family and the public?
Chua: Agree.
Mior: Do you agree that there was a heavy police presence to control the situation in court?
Chua: Agree.
Mior: Do you agree that the accused was charged on Dec 18, 2023, pending the chemistry, Miros (Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research) and post-mortem reports?
Chua: Agree.
Mior: The incident happened on Dec 15, 2023. Do you agree that the case went viral on social media, leading to the prosecution proceeding immediately?
Chua: Disagree.
Chua, who is attached to the CID, was the second investigating officer, replacing TEID's Inspector Jong Pit Chao.
However, he only handled the case for three days until Dec 18, 2023, before it was handed over to Assistant Superintendent S. Dasarathan.
On Tuesday, Chua told the court he was instructed by the deputy public prosecutor to charge Nazri under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
Nazri, who was also represented by M. Athimulan and Aiman Hakim Kamaruzzaman, faces a the death penalty or imprisonment of 30 to 40 years, with a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane, if convicted.
Nazri is accused of murdering Zaharif by running over the teen with his Perodua Ativa after knocking the 17-year-old from the teen's motorcycle.
The prosecution team comprises Deputy Public Prosecutors Afzainizam Abdul Aziz, Nasrul Hadi Abdul Ghani, and Low Qin Hui.
The trial continues tomorrow.