Tawau murder case: I couldn't recognise my father's body, son tells court

TAWAU: The son of a murdered ehailing driver has told the High Court here that he could not recognise his own father's body which was found in a state of decomposition in an oil palm plantation.

Mohd Norazrie Nurman, 36, said he later identified his father based on various physical characteristics.

Nurman Bakaratu, 61, was murdered on Jan 13 last year and his body was found three days later on Jan 16.

"I was summoned to Tawau Hospital by ASP Yusman Shari Marinsah... I was escorted by a medical specialist to the mortuary and saw the body, but initially, I couldn't identify it as it was bloated.

"However, later I identified him based on a damaged toe on the right foot," he said during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Fakhrurrazi Ahmad before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol on Wednesday (Jan 3).

The sixth prosecution witness said this on the second day of the trial of six policemen and a civilian, charged with killing the ehailing driver early last year, along with former Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) head of intelligence staff Datuk Mat Zaki Md Zain who is accused of abetment.

The policemen, Rosdi Rastam, 45; Denis Anit, 45; Fabian Rungam, 44; Khairul Azman Bakar, 47; Mohd Azlan Sakaran, 40; John Kennedy Sanggah, 44; and a civilian Vivien Fabian, 34, were charged with the murder of Nurman at a palm oil plantation near Jalan Anjur Juara, Jalan Apas Baru 5 here.

They were accused of committing the act between 7.30pm and 11.30pm on Jan 13, 2023, and were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read with Section 34 of the same Code, which provides for the death penalty if convicted.

Mat Zaki, 59, is facing two charges of conspiring to kill Nurman according to Section 109 of the Penal Code read with Section 302 of the same Code.

When questioned by lawyer Hairul Vaiyron Othman, Mohd Norazrie agreed that he could not be 100% certain that the remains in the hospital during the identification process were his father's.

Mohd Norazrie, an assistant plantation manager in Tongod, informed that his parents, who married in 1985, divorced after he completed Form 5 and was unaware that his father remarried and later divorced.

He said he had no knowledge that his father had visited an entertainment premises and confiscated his ex-wife's mobile phone a few days before his death.

He was also not aware whether the car found with the body was the one his father used while residing in Lahad Datu.

Tawau District Police Chief ACP Jasmin Hussin told the court that he visited the crime scene on Jan 16 and was there for about 10 to 15 minutes.

"When I arrived at the scene, I observed the body in a supine position on the left side of the white vehicle," said the eighth prosecution witness.

The trial continues on Thursday (Jan 4). – Bernama