KUALA LUMPUR: A police officer told the High Court yesterday that he did not edit the CCTV footage which captured the movement of two people believed to be the two accused in a fire incident at a tahfiz centre here.
Ampang Police headquarters CID senior investigating officer ASP Saiful Azhar Rahim said he had downloaded to a pendrive the recordings from CCTV camera installed at a neighbour’s house in Jalan Datuk Keramat dated Sept 14, 2017 from 12.25am to 7am.
“I handed over the pendrive containing CCTV footage downloaded from a decoder that I seized to ASP Rico Tay (ASP Tay Chew Thwa @ Rico Tay from Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent headquarters) on Sept 19, 2017, at 3pm, for further investigation,” he said.
He said this during an examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Julia Ibrahim at the trial of two teenagers charged with the murder of 23 occupants of Pusat Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah two years ago.
Julia: While downloading the CCTV footage into the pendrive, did you do any editing?
Saiful Azhar: No
Earlier, Saiful Azhar, who is attached to the CID of Wangsa Maju Police headquarters from April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2019, said he, who led a team of police personnel, had gone to a house in Kampung Datuk Keramat and confiscated a decoder and a cable on Sept 17, 2017 for further investigation.
The 67th prosecution witness said the confiscated items were then brought to the Wangsa Maju Police headquarters before the content being downloaded into a pendrive.
Two teenage boys, then aged 16, were jointly charged with murdering and causing the death of the 23 residents at the tahfiz centre at Jalan Keramat Hujung, Kampung Datuk Keramat, here, between 4.15 am and 6.45 am on Sept 14, 2017.
The two accused, now aged 18, each face 23 counts of murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same law, which provides a mandatory death sentence, upon conviction.
However, Section 97(1) of the Child Act 2001 states that a death sentence shall not be pronounced or recorded against a person convicted of an offence if the child is under the age of 18, and in lieu of the death sentence, as provided under Section 97 (2) of the same law, the court shall order the person to be detained at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Section 94 of the same law also empowers the court to order the parents or guardians of the child offender to pay a fine or provide compensation.
The trial before Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah continues Sept 24. — Bernama