Witness denies case against senior cop expedited due to social media

PETALING JAYA: An investigating officer from the Ipoh police headquarters’ criminal investigation division denied today that the prosecution of senior police officer Nazri Abdul Razak was expedited due to the case’s prominence on social media.

However, Chua Sze Yuan agreed with defence lawyer Mior Faridalathrash Wahid that tensions were high when Nazri was brought to the Ipoh High Court due to the presence of supporters, the victim’s family and members of the public, necessitating tight police security.

Mior had asked whether the directive to charge Nazri was issued quickly, on Dec 17, 2023, following the incident two days earlier, due to the social media outcry, Bernama reported.

Earlier, Chua said Nazri’s prosecution was conducted while awaiting the completion of the chemist’s report and the reports of the post-mortem and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research.

Asked by another defence lawyer, M Athimulan, about his testimony on Dec 17, 2023, that he received the directive for Nazri to be “tentatively” charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, Chua clarified that it referred to charging the accused first while awaiting the completion of other reports.

Nazri, who holds the rank of DSP,  was charged with the murder of student Zaharif Affendi Zamrie, 17, by running down the motorcyclist with his car at Jalan Taman Jati 1 near SMK Jati in Ipoh, between 11.45am and 12.32pm on Dec 15, 2023.

The prosecution is led by deputy public prosecutors Afzainizam Abdul Aziz, Nasrul Hadi Abdul Ghani and Low Qin.

Nazri is represented by lawyers Athimulan, Mior and Aiman Hakim Kamaruzzaman.

The trial, presided over by Justice Bhupindar Singh, continues tomorrow.