Foray murder trial: Trader claims he did not want tourist to stay with him

KUANTAN: Trader Asni Omar told the High Court here that while he did not want murdered French tourist Stephanie Foray to stay at his house, he never chased her away.

He told the court that Foray had told him she wanted to experience living in a village even though Asni had voiced his disagreement.

“I made suggestions on where she could find accommodation but she said she wanted to stay at my house that night,” Asni said during cross-examination by deputy public prosecutor Salim Soib here, Friday.

He added that he did not chase Foray away or remove her belongings and just let the matter be.

Asni, 39, is charged with murdering Foray, 30, at an unnumbered house in Kampung Tekek, Pulau Tioman, between 8pm on May 10 and noon on May 12, 2011.

During his testimony from the witness stand on Tuesday, Asni said that he had taken Foray to Taman Laut after dinner together and left her there.

He had said that the reason he had wanted to leave quickly was to return home to call his girlfriend Monaliza Yaakob.

When Salim asked why Asni had wanted to go home to chat with his girlfriend when he had a mobile phone, Asni said he usually talked to Monaliza for more than an hour.

“I wanted to go home because our conversations were sometimes not appropriate for others to hear,” said Asni.

Salim then put it to Asni that there was no reason to return home to call Monaliza because he was using a mobile phone. He added that there was no reason for Asni to leave Foray at Taman Laut.

“I did not intend to leave Foray. It was at her request. Only in this situation, I wanted to go home quickly and I could not persuade Foray.

“If I was late, Monaliza would get angry,” Asni said.

Asked about the sling bag Foray was wore, Asni said it could be the one he found at his home in June.

He also denied that he had destroyed Foray’s camera because it contained photographs of him.

Asni also told the court that while he does comnume alcohol, he did not do so the night he left Foray at Taman Laut and only had empty cans at his home.

He also insisted that there were no bloodstains on the walls of his home.

Asni denied a flurry of questions suggesting that police had taken swabs of the bloodstains in front of him, saying that he never saw it happen.

The trial continues Monday.