Fire at Cradle Fund CEO’s house could have been deliberately set, court told

Samirah Muzaffar is jointly charged with two teenagers and another person at large with murdering her husband, Cradle Fund CEO Nazrin Hassan.

PETALING JAYA: Investigations into the fire that broke out at the home of Cradle Fund CEO Nazrin Hassan about two years ago found that it could have been deliberately set, the High Court was told today.

Fire and Rescue Department director (Fire Safety) Edwin Galan Teruki said analysis of samples obtained after the fire “also found the effects of flammable liquid such as petrol”, Bernama reported.

Edwin, the 20th prosecution witness, said firefighters found three instances of burn marks and traces of soot in Nazrin’s room.

Reading out his witness statement before judge Ab Karim Ab Rahman, he said there were marks on Nazrin’s head, the right side of his mattress and at the headboard.

He said firefighters found fabric material on the floor and a trace of soot on Nazrin’s head.

In the second instance, “mass loss of material” was found on the right side of the mattress, indicating that it was exposed to a strong fire.

Thirdly, he said, a “deep soot effect” of 0.7mm was found at the head of the bed compared to 0.3 mm found in other areas.

Edwin said analysis of samples obtained in the room “also found the effects of flammable liquid such as petrol”.

He said scanning conducted on a BlackBerry handphone claimed to be the cause of the fire found that it was not damaged except for a “slight loss of material” on the phone casing.

Based on the findings of the investigation and discussions with investigating officer at the Fire and Rescue Department Abdul Halim Zulkefeli and several other officers, they agreed that the fire was started deliberately.

Following this, he said, further investigation and analyses were conducted, including reconstructing the fire and interviewing witnesses.

He said a report on the investigation was submitted to the Petaling Jaya district police chief.

Nazrin’s wife, Samirah Muzaffar, 45, who is a former senior executive at the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO), and two teenagers aged 17 and 14, were charged along with Indonesian citizen Eka Wahyu Lestari, who is still at large, with his murder on March 12 last year

They are alleged to have committed the offence at a house in Mutiara Homes, Mutiara Damansara, between 11.30pm on June 13, 2018, and 4am the next day.

They are charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same law, and face the mandatory death sentence if found guilty.

The hearing continues on May 22. - FMT