The Court of Appeal upheld the acquittal of Samirah Muzaffar and her two teenage sons over the 2018 murder of her then-husband Nazrin Hassan, who was the Cradle Fund CEO.
The three-person bench chaired by Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera this afternoon unanimously dismissed the prosecution’s appeal for the trio to be ordered to enter their defence in the murder case.
Vazeer ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the murder case as the evidence was circumstantial and there was counter-evidence that relations between the deceased and the two teens were good.
Reading out the judgment on behalf of fellow bench member judges Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Azhahari Kamal Ramli, Vazeer said the prosecution cannot rely on the last-seen theory to try and establish the guilt of Samirah (above) and the two teens, who are her sons from a previous marriage before Nazrin.
“We have seen no evidence of motive on the part of the three respondents to kill the deceased.
“The allegation (raised by the prosecution) on financial motive, a (purported) attempt to divorce Samirah, and the allegation of bad relations are also unclear and ambiguous.
“It is well settled that when relying on motive, it must be satisfactorily proven on clear evidence. Motive evidence must be clear and not vague,” Vazeer said.
“Contrary to the prosecution (assertion), there is testimony from the deceased’s driver and deceased’s personal assistant on the good relations between the deceased and Samirah,” the judge said.
He said the appellate bench found there was no common intention between the three respondents as well as their former maid to murder Nazrin.
Vazeer noted that while the authorities claimed the former maid was at large, she was actually at Kuching, Sarawak at one point, but that the police never attempted to arrest her.
While generally agreeing with the High Court finding that acquitted Samirah and the two teens, the appellate bench however ruled that the lower court erred in finding that a fire was deliberately started at the scene where the deceased was found.
High Court’s acquittal
On June 21, 2022, Shah Alam High Court trial judge Ab Karim Ab Rahman acquitted Samirah and the teens after finding the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case at the end of the trio’s trial.
He ruled that the situation at the time did not show that the conduct of the accused and the two children inflicted injuries which resulted in the victim’s death.
Ab Karim said the prosecution also failed to prove that there was a murder at the time alleged in the charge.
Samirah and the two teenagers, as well as an Indonesian woman who used to be their maid - Eka Wahyu Lestari - were charged with murdering Nazrin, 45, at his house in Mutiara Damansara, Selangor, between 11.30pm on June 13, 2018, and 4am the following day.
The prosecution closed its case on Feb 14 last year, after calling 57 witnesses. The trial began on Sept 6, 2019. - Mkini
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