IPOH: Two witnesses testified in the High Court today that the motorcycle and exhaust used by Muhammad Zaharif Affendi Muhd Zamrie during the fatal accident last year did not belong to him.
The prosecution's 14th and 15th witnesses also said the motorcycle and exhaust were owned by different individuals, with the exhaust being handed over to the police a week after the incident.
The 14th witness testified that a week after Zaharif's passing, his friend, who is the 15th witness, brought an 'NLK' exhaust, manufactured in Thailand, to his home.
"When my friend (the 15th witness) delivered the exhaust, I knew it belonged to another friend.
"I recognised it was the exhaust (of his motorcycle) because he had once tried to sell it to me.
"After my friend delivered it to my home, I placed it outside, within the gated area. The police contacted me and asked about the exhaust, and I admitted that I had stored it.
"The police came to my house and took the exhaust from me. I could identify the exhaust because it was an NLK brand and a four-stroke type exhaust," he said, reading his written statement before Judge Datuk Bhupindar Singh Gucharan Singh Preet.
Meanwhile, the 15th witness said he and his friend intended to bring the motorcycle to his house because he knew the exhaust on the motorcycle didn't belong to Zaharif but to Zaharif's friend.
"I knew that Zaharif had borrowed his friend's exhaust because, on the morning of the incident near a shop, Zaharif told me that he had borrowed the exhaust from his friend.
"While the exhaust was with me, I did not tamper with it and only placed it against the front exterior wall of my house. After the incident, within a week, I told my friends that the exhaust was with me," he said.
The 15th witness provided his testimony during cross-examination by lawyer M. Athimulan on the ninth day of the trial.
Athimulan: About the motorcycle, do you know who it belongs to? Zaharif or someone else?
Witness: Someone else.
Athimulan: Do you know the owner of the motorcycle?
Witness: Yes.
Athimulan: Regarding the exhaust, do you know who it belongs to?
Witness: My friend (witness mentioned his friend's name, but can't be named here).
Athimulan: Do you know if, on the day of the incident, the exhaust was actually installed on the motorcycle?
Witness: Yes.
The accused was also represented by lawyers Datuk Meor Faridalathrash Wahid, and Aiman Hakim Kamaruzzaman, while the prosecution team is made up of deputy public prosecutors Afzainizam Abdul Aziz, Nasrul Hadi Abdul Ghani, V Suloshani and Low Qin Hui.
The trial adjourned and will resume on Dec 2.
Mohd Nazri Abdul Razak, 45, was charged with murdering Muhammad Zaharif Affendi at Jalan Taman Jati 1, near SMK Jati, between 11.45am and 12.32pm on Dec 15, 2023.
The senior police officer, deputy superintendent, was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of either death or imprisonment of 30 to 40 years, with a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane if convicted.