Mum: Hasleza wore an amulet

BY RASLAN BAHAROM

TAIPING: Hasleza Ishak, the second wife of the Raja di-Hilir Perak, wore an amulet to ward off evil spells, the High Court was told yesterday. 

Hasleza’s mother, Salamah Ibrahim, 46, said the amulet was a piece of yellow clothabout the size of a foolscap paper. 

Salamah said the amulet originally belonged to her and she had passed it on to Hasleza, who had worn it for about 10 years. 

Salamah: The amulet was to protect Hazleza if somebody wanted to cast a spell on her.

“She wore a kain pengadang (amulet). It was a pendinding (a shield) to protect her if somebody wanted to cast a spell on her,” she added during cross-examination by defence counsel Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. 

Salamah said the amulet was folded and tucked under Hasleza’s bra.  

To a question by Muhammad Shafie whether the wearing of the amulet was a culture in Pantai Remis where her family hailed from, Salamah said it was a normal practice every where. 

Salamah earlier identified Hasleza’s belongings, including her wedding photograph. 

Justice Mohd Noor Abdullah, however, suggested that the witness be spared from identifying photos of Hasleza’s decomposed body. 

Earlier, Salamah told deputy public prosecutor Shahidani Abdul Aziz that she was at her home in Taman Pinji Perdana at about 9am on Oct 11 when the police took her to identify Hasleza’s remains at the Ipoh Hospital mortuary. 

“I could identify the remains as soon as I opened the plastic cover,” she said in tears. 

Salamah added that Hasleza was wearing the light brown short-sleeve shirt and dark blue trousers, which she had given her, whenshe went out of her house for the last time. 

She said a stall operator informed her of Hasleza’s kidnapping between 5.30pm and 6pm on Oct 6. 

Salamah, who told the court that her daughter had been married to the Raja di-Hilir Perak for about nine months, was testifying at the trial of padi planter Mat Saad Mat Isa, 50, carpenter Sabarudin Non, 34, and fisherman J. Manimaran, 37, all from Tanjung Piandang, who were charged with murdering Hasleza between 6pm and 11pm at the Km63 of Jalan Sumpitan in the Larut Matang and Selama district here on Oct 6 last year. 

Two others – bomoh Rahim Ismail, 47, from Tanjung Piandang and palace aide Tengku Aristonsjah, 41, from Kamunting here – were jointly tried for abetting the murder. 

Mat Saad was represented by counsel Manjit Singh Bhatt; Sabarudin and Manimaran by A. Thanasekharan and N. Ahilan; Rahim by Gurbachan Singh and Amrik Pal Singh; and Tengku Aristonsjah by Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah and Kiru Banandan. 

The deputy public prosecutors were Nordin Hassan, Mazri Daud, Shahidani Abdul Aziz and Chew Soo Ho while counsel Joseph Sebastian and S. Ravichandran held a watching brief for Hasleza’s family. 

Three other witnesses also testified yesterday – Chief Inspector Khoo Boon Huat, stall owner Fadzil Ahmad Khalid and Kpl Syed Shamsudin Habib Ismail. 

Fadzil, 23, who runs a stall in Taman Perdana akilometre from Hasleza’s house, said on Oct 6, a brown metallic Proton Saga bearing the registration number ABW 4001 pulled over near his stall at about 5.50pm. 

He said he saw three people wearing vests and hats in the car. 

“About 15 minutes later, the car moved towards the nearby Taman Pinji Perdana where it blocked a silver Honda Civic bearing the registration number AEL 8997. 

“I saw the passenger seated in front of the Proton Saga getting out of the car, going to the Honda Civic and smashing the driver’s side windscreen. 

“Another passenger rushed out and pulled Hasleza into the Proton Saga. Hasleza struggled and shouted for help,” said Fadzil. 

He added that he was taken to an identification parade, where he identified the three people in the Proton Saga as Mat Saad, Sabarudin and Manimaran. 

When cross-examined by counsel Manjit Singh Bhatt, Fadzil said the Proton Saga had tinted windscreens. 

He said he identified each of the three accused at three separate identification parades held at the state contingent police headquarters. 

“During each parade, about 20 men, comprising Malays and Indians, were lined up for identification,” he said. 

Fadzil also admitted that he suffered from blurred vision in his left eye. 

Hearing continues today. 

Earlier court proceedings