KUALA LUMPUR: The Sessions Court here has allowed the prosecution’s application for the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage in the case of Israeli Avitan Shalom, who is charged with two counts of trafficking six firearms and possessing 200 rounds of ammunition, not to be disclosed to the public, with access granted only to expert witnesses.
Judge Norina Zainol Abidin made the ruling after Deputy Public Prosecutor Rullizah Abdul Majid told the court that the CCTV footage should only be used as a reference by expert witnesses during the trial.
"The prosecution has handed over the CCTV footage to the defence lawyer, requesting that it not be disclosed to any other party or the public.
"We have also submitted all necessary documents, including the forensic report analysis, to the defence,” said Rullizah when the case came up for mention on Monday (Sept 2).
Avitan’s lawyer Jeffrey Ooi did not object to the application.
Meanwhile, DPP Rullizah requested that the previously set trial dates be rescheduled, as one of the Deputy Public Prosecutors, Mohamad Mustaffa P. Kunyalam, would be involved in the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) case, which overlaps with the Avitan case.
"Previously, the trial was set for Sept 30, Oct 1 to 3, and Oct 7 to 11. Therefore, the prosecution requests that Sept 30, the first day of the trial, be fixed as a case mention to reschedule the trial dates,” she said.
Judge Norina then set Sept 30 for the next mention of the case to fix new trial dates.
Avitan, 38, had pleaded not guilty to two amended charges.
On the first charge, he was alleged to be in possession of a box containing eight Shell Shock NAS3 9mm bullets, three boxes of Bullet Master Co Ltd containing 150 bullets, and 42 bullets in three firearms without a permit. The charge was framed under Section 8(a) of the Arms Act 1960 (Act 206) which provides for a maximum imprisonment of seven years, or a fine not exceeding RM10,000 or both if convicted.
Avitan was also charged with trafficking firearms, namely Glock 19 USA 9x19 (Serial Number AEGS286); Sig Sauer P3205P (Serial Number 58C283463); Cougar 8000FT (Serial Number T6429-10G002496); Austrian Glock 17 Gen4 9x19 (Serial Number: BDZZ090); M&P 9C Smith & Wesson Springfield MA USA (Serial Number: DSW9077) and Stoeger Cougar 8000F (Serial Number T6429-08-A029304). The charge, framed under Section 7(1) of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 (Act 37), provides a minimum of 30 years imprisonment and a maximum of 40 years and not less than six strokes of the cane if found guilty.
Both the offences were allegedly committed in a hotel room in Jalan Ampang, here between 6.46pm on March 26 and 6pm on March 28 this year. – Bernama
