KOTA KINABALU: The sister of Norikoh Saliwa told the Sessions Court here yesterday that the Pakistani man who stands accused of causing the death of Norikoh looked worried when they met at a market in Kota Marudu.
Bibianah Saliwa, 26, told court judge Duncan Sikodol that the accused, Amir Ali Khan Nawaty, 40, seemed very worried when they met because he wanted to hand over Norikoh’s wallet.
“At about noon, the accused went to see me at the market where we used to wait for a bus ride home,” she recalled.
Amir, who is defended by counsel Rakhbir Singh, was charged with causing the death of 16-year-old Norikoh in a moving lorry along Jalan KM 2.8 Langkon, from Kota Marudu, between 11am and 12.30pm on Nov 25, 2012.
The charge under Section 304 (b) of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to 10 years or with a fine upon conviction.
Under examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharuddin, she testified that the accused came to see her because he wanted to hand over Norikoh’s wallet which was left in his lorry.
“The accused asked me about the whereabouts of Norikoh, but I told him that I didn’t know as she had followed him (the accused) and she must come back with him too,” Bibianah recalled.
She said the accused told her he did not know the whereabouts of Norikoh as the deceased had asked him to drop her off at a fuel station.
“Amir told me that day that he had dropped Norikoh at the fuel station while he went to pay his bills, but when he came back, the accused found that Norikoh was not there and that she had left her wallet inside the lorry,” said the 30th prosecution witness.
To a question from Raja Zaizul, Bibianah said that after the meeting at the market, she felt worried for Norikoh.
“I then went to the Kota Marudu police station to report that my sister was missing,” she said.
“When I reached the police station, the people at the counter asked me why, then I told them that my sister was missing,” she said, adding that the police there replied to her that they had received a call stating that a body of a girl was found near the roadside.
After that, Bibianah rushed to the hospital in a police patrol car to check whether the girl was her sister.
“We went to the scene, and the public there said the girl had been brought to the Emergency Room at the hospital. When we reached the hospital the police prevented me from seeing the girl but I could recognize Norikoh’s legs and her shoes.
“From that, I knew that the girl was my sister,” she said.
Bibianah said after that she was brought to the police station again for her statement to be recorded.
Earlier, Bibianah explained to the court that she, Norikoh and their nephew went to Kota Marudu Town to look for jobs but could not find one.
“After that we went to Goshen Town also to look for jobs but none, then we went to a furniture shop to buy an extension wire before we proceeded to the accused’s shop.
Bibianah explained that when they entered the accused’s furniture shop, Norikoh then directly asked the accused, who is the owner of the shop, whether there was a job vacancy or not.
“The accused said yes there was a vacancy at his shop. Then the accused asked who wanted to work, and I said our nephew,” she testified.
Then, Bibianah said, the accused gave his cellphone number to Norikoh, which she saved in one of her cellphones.
“Two hours after that the accused called Norikoh twice saying he wanted to go out with Norikoh and asked her to wait for him behind a bank near the town.
When asked by Raja Zaizul how she knew about the conversation, Bibianah replied: “Because at that time Norikoh was eating and she asked me to pick up her phone and I pretended to be Norikoh.”
“Nor long after that, Norikoh received another phone call but I didn’t know who made the call but I felt that the accused was the one who made the call as I saw Norikoh running towards a lorry while talking on the phone.
To another question, she said about 10 minutes after Norikoh had left, she called Norikoh asking where she was, but the latter only said that she was in a shop.
“I asked when she would be going home and Norikoh told me she didn’t know because the person she had followed would send her back to town, but maybe late.
Bibianah added that after she hung up the call, she sent a text message to Norikoh and at the same time called Norikoh, but that second call she made was not answered.
DPP Afzan Abdul Kahar assisted Raja Zaizul while counsel Peter Marajin held a watching brief for the deceased’s family.
The trial continues today.