TAWAU: A student told the High Court here that he overheard Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan confessing to stealing money belonging to one of the accused.
The 19th prosecution witness, Putra Azdaniel Jhalal Razhiel Jhalal, 19, a diploma student at the college, said he was not sure whose money the victim had stolen. He initially went to dormitory room 7 Resak of the Lahad Datu Vocational College to look for coloured pencils for a landscaping assignment at around 10pm on March 21.
"When I entered, I saw Ijat (Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat) and the fifth accused talking where he was accused of stealing money.
"Ijat then went to his locker and brought out RM50, RM10, RM5 and three RM1 notes and handed them to the fifth accused.
"Ijat admitted he stole the money and said 'yes, I took it.' Then, the first, fourth, and fifth accused started hitting the victim," he said during his testimony at the murder trial of Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.
Thirteen students from the college, aged between 16 and 19, are jointly charged with the murder of 17-year-old Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat at dormitory rooms 7 Resak and 5 Belian of the Lahad Datu Vocational College, between 9 pm on March 21 and 7.38 am on March 22.
The charges are framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same code, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment for 30 to 40 years, and not more than 12 strokes of the cane, if found guilty.
During the examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nur Nisla Abd Latif, Putra Azdaniel Jhalal said that at the time of the incident, the three accused were on his left and the victim on his right.
Putra Azdaniel Jhalal also said that the three accused had hit the victim more than once but could not confirm which parts of the victim's body were struck.
He said that about an hour later, he went to room 5 Belian, still searching for coloured pencils, where he witnessed the 12th accused punching the victim's body, while the second accused stomped on the victim's head, who was lying on the floor at the time.
The witness also mentioned that he helped carry the victim to the Exco Belian bathroom to shower, and waited outside.
"After five minutes, I helped Ijat into room 7 Belian as I didn't know which room he was from. I felt sorry for him; he had no energy and could barely walk. I then laid him on the bed," he said, adding that the victim thanked him for the gesture.
Besides Nur Nisla, the prosecution is also being handled by deputy public prosecutors Ng Juhn Tao and Batrisyia Mohd Khusri.
Eight of the 13 teenagers are represented by lawyers Datuk Ram Singh, Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki, and Chen Wen Jye; while five others are represented by lawyers Mohamad Zairi Zainal Abidin, Abdul Ghani Zelika, Vivian Thien, Jhesseny P Kang, and Kusni Ambotuwo. – Bernama
