Cradle CEO’s wife and teens charged

PETALING JAYA: Police investigation into the mysterious death of Cradle Fund CEO Nazrin Hassan has finally concluded with his wife Samirah Muzaffar and two teenage boys charged with his murder.

The case that has gripped the nation with its twists and turns started when Nazrin, 45, died in a fire at his home on the eve of last Hari Raya Aidilfitri, reportedly after his phone exploded.

But the police reclassified his death as murder after a probe by the Fire and Rescue Department, which was followed by the exhumation of his body for a second post-­mortem.

Yesterday, Samirah, 44, appeared in a magistrate’s court with the boys – aged 13 and 16 – in a room packed with newsmen, family members and friends of the deceased and the accused, including Samirah’s father, the well-known social activist Dr Chandra Muzaffar.

She had a large blue patterned shawl over her head while the boys, who were in their school uniforms, covered their faces with jackets.

The three were jointly charged with Indonesian Eka Wahyu Lestari, who is still at large, for Nazrin’s murder.

Eka Wahyu is said to be the domestic helper at Nazrin’s house.

The offence was allegedly committed at a house in Mutiara Da­­man­­sara, near here, between 11.30pm on June 13 and 4am on June 14, 2018.

The charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

They nodded their heads to signal they understood the charge after it was read by the court interpreter.

No plea was recorded.

Deputy public prosecutor Datuk Jamil Aripin asked the court to impose a gag order on the media for it not to publish the names and other details that could expose the minors, in accordance with Section 15 of the Child Act 2001.

“I ask the court not to allow photographs of the children to be transmitted in electronic media as well,” he said.

He also applied for the case to be transferred to the High Court.

Magistrate Mohamad Ikhwan Mohd Nasir allowed the gag order.

“The names and other details that could lead to the identification of the boys are not allowed to be published by the media,” he said.

The magistrate also ordered the case to be transferred immediately to the High Court.

Lawyers L.S. Leonard and Mahin­derjit Singh appeared for the accused.

No dates have been fixed for mention at the High Court.

Samirah was sent to Kajang Women’s Prison and the teens separately to two correctional facilities.

In a press statement earlier yesterday, police said Samirah and the two boys were detained at their home at about 6.45am yesterday.

Last June, Nazrin was found with 30% burns to his body at the upper floor of his double-storey house in Mutiara Damansara.

The police reclassified the case as murder following a forensic investigation by the Fire and Rescue De­­part­ment.

Several people connected to him, including Samirah and her first husband, were remanded to assist in the investigation.

The case took another turn when on Oct 8 last year, Nazrin’s remains were exhumed from the Muslim Cemetery in Section 9, Kota Daman­sara, and sent for a second post-­mortem after the Putrajaya Court of Appeal rejected Samirah’s application to postpone the process.

His remains were reburied on Oct 15 in the same cemetery after undergoing a second post-mortem over eight days.