TAWAU: Two defence witnesses in the murder trial of a Kolej Vokasional Lahad Datu (KVLD) student told the High Court here, Monday, that they were coerced by the school’s disciplinary teacher into written confessions.
They claimed one “Cikgu Firdaus” made them confess in writing that they had beaten the victim – leading to his death.
The fifth accused, who was the first defence witness, made the statement during the first day of the trial’s defence stage.
During cross-examination by counsel Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki, the 18-year-old accused stated that he was given an A4 paper to write a confession admitting to the fatal assault on the victim.
The fifth accused, represented by counsel Abdul Ghani Zelika, also confirmed that the written confession was made under duress and not of his own free will.
However, when questioned by the said counsel about the contents of the written statement, he responded that he could not recall what he had written.
He was also uncertain whether he had seen “Cikgu Firdaus” hand over the confession paper when the police arrived at Danum Room, KVLD.
Meanwhile, the second defence witness, who is the seventh accused, also testified that the teacher provided them with a blank A4 paper and a pen to write about what had happened.
“I wrote that I was not involved in beating the deceased. After writing on the A4 paper, I handed it over to Cikgu Firdaus and was then separated into a group before being instructed to enter a small room.
“I and several other students remained in the small room until the police arrived at approximately 11am,” he stated in his witness testimony.
The fifth accused, a 17-year-old represented by counsel Jhesseny P Kang, further revealed that while being detained by the teacher before being taken to the police station for a statement recording, his parents were never contacted.
During the cautioned statement process, he claimed that he was also forced to confess to beating the deceased and was threatened by the recording officer, who allegedly warned that he would be punched if he refused to comply.
Fearing for his safety, he followed the officer’s instructions.
In the cross-examination by counsel Datuk Ram Singh, the witness responded, “not according to what I wrote,” when asked whether the police had questioned him based on his written statement in the A4 paper while at the Lahad Datu District Police Headquarters.
Ram: “In the A4 paper, you stated that you did not beat the deceased. However, in paragraph seven of your witness statement, you said you were forced to confess to beating him. Why did you make a confession to the police when you previously stated that you had not assaulted the victim?”
Witness: “They threatened me.”
Ram: “What did they threaten you with?”
Witness: “If I did not confess, they would punch me.”
Ram: “Who are ‘they’?”
Witness: “The officer investigating me.”
Ram: “Did the officer punch you?”
Witness: “Almost.”
However, when further questioned, the witness said he did not know the name of the officer but recognised his face.
He also confirmed that the officer had not testified in court.
The trial is being heard before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.
All 13 students, aged between 16 and 19, are charged with murdering Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat Mohd Narul Azwan, 17, at KVLD between 9pm on 21 March and 7.38 am on March 22, 2024.
The prosecution team was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Nur Nisla Abd Latif, assisted by DPPs Ng Juhn Tao and Batrisyia Mohd Khusri.
Eight of the 13 teenagers were represented by counsels Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki, Datuk Ram Singh, and Chen Wen Jye.
They include the first, third, fourth, eighth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth accused.
The remaining five were represented by counsel Abdul Ghani Zelika (fifth accused), Vivian Thien (sixth accused), Jhesseny P. Kang (seventh accused), Kusni Ambotuwo (ninth accused), and Mohamed Zairi Zainal Abidin (second accused).