There were signs Nazrin's room deliberately set on fire - Witness

There were signs that the bedroom of Cradle Fund chief executive officer Nazrin Hassan (above) was deliberately set on fire in June 2018, the High Court in Shah Alam was told today.

The 15th prosecution witness, Selangor Fire and Rescue Department fire investigations officer Abdul Halim Zulkefeli said this was because, based on his investigations, the fire was 'concentrated' in certain areas of the room.

When asked by DPP Ashyraf Ashy'ari Kamaruzaman, before Judge Datuk Ab Karim Ab Rahman, what he meant by 'concentrated', Abdul Halim explained that if the fire was deliberately started, it would only be done in a planned place.

He said there were some flammable material, including a pile of papers and tissue rolls, placed near the victim, and the bed which did not burn.

Ashyraf Ashy'ari: The deceased's (Nazrin) body was not (fully) burnt, but there were certain parts (of his body) that were burnt. The same goes for the bed. So what is the cause of this, and for it (the fire) to be concentrated in a particular area?

Abdul Halim: These were signs that showed a fire was deliberately lit, because it was only concentrated in certain areas.

Ashyraf Ashy'ari: Does the area of concentration require an agent for an open fire to occur?

Abdul Halim: In a deliberate fire incident, usually an agent or tool that can help (spark) the fire is used, such as petrol, diesel and other fuels.

Ashyraf Ashy'ari: In this case, what was the agent used?

Abdul Halim: After samples from the burned area were taken and sent to the scientific officer, the results showed that it was petrol.

Meanwhile, when asked by Selangor State Prosecutor Salim Soib @ Hamid if the fire could have been triggered by a short circuit, Abdul Halim said he had considered the fact in his investigation, but found that there was no electrical issues in the incident.

He said inspections throughout the house also found that the electrical safety level was good ,but there were two miniature circuit breakers that were shut off, either deliberately, or due to an electrical trip.

On March 12, Samirah Muzaffar (above), 44, a former senior executive at the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia, who is also the widow of Nazrin, 47, and two boys, aged 17 and 14, were jointly charged, along with an Indonesian citizen, Eka Wahyu Lestari, who is still at large, with the murder of the Cradle Fund CEO.

They were accused of committing the offence at one of the housing units in Mutiara Homes, Pearl Damansara, between 11.30 pm on June 13, 2018 and 4 am on June 14, 2018.

The charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same Act, provides for a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

- Bernama