IPOH: A senior police officer charged with the murder of a secondary school student here has had his bail application rejected.
High Court judge Justice Bhupindar Singh Gurcharan Singh Preet delivered the decision after hearing the arguments presented by both the prosecution and counsel for the accused yesterday.
He said there were no special reasons or situations for the bail to be granted under Section 388 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Deputy Supt Mohd Nazri Abdul Razak was accused of murdering 17-year-old Muhammad Zaharif Affendi Muhd Zamrie at Jalan Taman Jati near SMK Jati here between 12.05pm and 12.40pm on Dec 15 last year.
He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code at a Magistrate’s Court here on Dec 18 and the case was transferred to the High Court earlier this year.
During yesterday’s proceeding, DSP Mohd Nazri’s lawyer Jacky Loi said his client, being a police officer, would be in danger while in transit between the court and prison.
“Before being transported to the Taiping Prison, he would be placed in a transitional prison in Kamunting where there is a mix of inmates.
“We have written to the Prisons Department on this,” he said, adding that his client would be put in a solitary cell at the Taiping Prison.
“There is no guarantee that he can be safe,” he added.
Loi also claimed that in the narrative of the case, the deceased had caused a disturbance by travelling at high speed near a school.
He said his client was therefore duty-bound as a police officer to ensure public safety and prevent such a crime.
“We are not saying (the accused) is absolutely innocent, but he is a police officer. A chase took place.
“There was also no motive shown for the murder and the accused did not know the deceased,” he said, adding that his client was not a flight risk and would not disturb the witnesses.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz said the safety of the accused during transit to prison from court was not brought up in his affidavit.
He said the basis for the bail application was only that it was better for the accused to be out of jail so that he could meet with his counsel.
“The prison has not stopped or barred him from meeting his lawyers,” he said.
As for questions Loi raised about the specific offence in the prosecution’s narrative, Afzainizam said: “We will give the statements during the trial.”
“We also have forensic evidence, as well as dashcam and CCTV recordings to show that he (the accused) had driven past the speed limit.
“Witnesses saw the accused exit his car after hitting the victim’s motorcycle before fleeing,” he said.
“It cannot be denied that he chased after the victim and crashed into the motorcycle from behind. There was an intention to cause injury to the victim, as shown in the post-mortem report. The victim died due to chest and abdominal injuries caused by the crash.
“(Stating) that the accused did not know the victim is irrelevant and he was also not driving a police car,” Afzainizam said.
Lawyer Datuk Wan Azmir Wan Majid is holding a watching brief on behalf of the victim’s family.
The trial has been set for 30 days from Nov 4.
