KUALA LUMPUR: A police officer told the sessions court here today that there were no records that a water purifier was damaged at a condo unit where Bella, a teenage girl with Down Syndrome, was staying.
The court had earlier been told that hot water had been used to injure the girl.
Rohaini Baharom, from the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters’ sexual, women and children investigation division (D11), said she based her evidence on service records provided by the water purifier company concerned.
“I made further investigations on the documents obtained via email on Nov 11, 2021 and found that in the service records for the year 2021, nothing was mentioned about the water dispenser being faulty,” she said.
The 20th prosecution witness said this when re-examined by deputy public prosecutor Nor Azizah Mohamad at the trial of the welfare home founder, Siti Bainun Ahd Razali, who is accused of neglecting and abusing Bella.
Rohaini’s testimony contradicts a suggestion made earlier by Siti Bainun’s lawyer who dismissed claims that hot water was poured on Bella because the water dispenser at her client’s house had broken down since March 2021.
Previously, Yasmin Nahar Mohmood, 19, had told the court that Siti Bainun had asked her to splash hot water from the water dispenser on Bella three times a week using a yellow plastic cup, without a handle and syringe.
Yasmin, who was also the fifth prosecution witness, later admitted that the scalds suffered by Bella were caused by hot water from a thermos and not a water dispenser.
When asked by Siti Bainun’s lawyer, Nurul Hafidzah Hassan, if the service documents were signed by the defendant, Rohaini said she was not sure.
The witness disagreed with Nurul Hafidzah’s suggestion that any conclusion made by her based on the documents received via email was not conclusive as she did not know who had signed the documents.
When asked how she knew who signed the documents, Rohaini replied a technician from the water purifier company had confirmed it.
Later, a former maintenance technician, Azrin Aisyah Razi, 32, told the court that the water dispenser was in good working condition when she came to service the unit on May 17 last year.
“Before servicing the machine, I had to make sure that it was working properly because it is a digital water purifier.
“I then pressed the touch button to test the hot and cold water and ensure the PH (acidity) levels,” she said, adding that Siti Bainun had informed her that there was a leak in the connecting pipe.
The 21st prosecution witness said she took 20 minutes to service the machine. As soon as the task was completed, Siti Bainun signed the document.
Siti Bainun, 30, is facing two charges of neglecting and abusing Bella, causing her to suffer physical and emotional injuries between February and June 2021 at a condominium unit in Wangsa Maju here.
The hearing before judge Izralizam Sanusi continues tomorrow. - FMT
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