Masiah @ Maziah Manap, the widow of Customs assistant director, Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed, said from April 2011 till today, no MACC officer had apologised to her for her husband's death at the MACC's Jalan Cochrane office.

 

In a teary testimony before Kuala Lumpur High Court today, Maziah said she filed the lawsuit to seek justice for her husband, herself and family.

 

"I want to know how and why my husband who was healthy when leaving our home on April 6, 2011, was returned to us, dead. The MACC should be held responsible as he was in its premises when he lost his life," she said.

 

"I have been sad since that day. Till today, nobody from the MACC has apologised for what had happened to my husband and family," she said in tears on the witness stand.

 

She explained that her Ahmad Sarbaini (left) was a God-fearing man, who frequented the mosque for congregational prayers. He was supposed to go for the Haj that year.

 

They also lived within their means and he did not take gifts or entertained any form of corruption.

 

"I even purchased a handphone for him as he told me he could not afford it.

"He told me in our 28 years of marriage that if I loved him, I should not ask for things which he could not afford," he said.

She added that he was the muezzin for the Pulau Indah mosque when he was posted there and is known for being trustworthy.

"We live within our means, we do not go for overseas trips and we do not have big cars or big houses.

 

"Our children go to government and not private schools," she said.

 

Maziah, 53, who works as a supervisor at Petronas Dagangan Bhd, and has five children with the late Ahmad Sarbaini, related all this during examination-in-chief by her counsel, Razlan Hadri Zulkifli.

 

She and her eldest son had filed a RM8 million suit against seven MACC officers including its chief commissioner, the anti-graft agency and government.

 

Ahmad Sarbaini was found dead at MACC’s Federal Territories office in Jalan Cochrane on April 6, 2011, after he went there from his home to change a statement he had given to MACC.

MACC had earlier arrested him and listed him as a suspect.

Justice Kamaluddin Md Said, who is presiding the case will visit the MACC office tomorrow morning.

 

A straight man

 

Describing her husband as a straight man, Maziah said her husband would not abuse his position.

To illustrate this, she related what happened when their daughter had sustained a bone fracture when Ahmad Sarbaini was working in a hospital, prior to joining the Customs Department.

"Despite working at the hospital and my daughter was in pain, he asked me to pick-up a number and wait.

"When I protested he said it is not appropriate as there were others in pain."

Similarly, she said, Ahmad Sarbaini had scolded her when she once asked him to flash his Customs badge or authority card so their vehicle would not get inspected at the Singapore-Johore border.

"He scolded me (by asking) what the car behind us would think if he were to do this. That is how the late Ahmad Sarbaini is,” Maziah (right) said.

The Petronas supervisor said she called her husband many times to no avail when he failed to return home the day he was picked up by the MACC from their living quarters in Kelana Jaya on Apr 1, 2011.

 

"I was surprised the next day when I was asked to go to the MACC office the next day to find him wearing lock-up clothes.

"Before meeting my husband, a MACC officer by the name of Ghani asked me repeatedly why I have RM40,000 in my account," she said.

She said she told him that this was as she had just withdrawn from the Employees Provident Fund account, upon reaching the age of 50 but the officer was persistent that she show proof.

"I did not have the necessary documents then, and told him to check with the EPF directly," she said, adding her husband was released on RM5,000 bail.

 

'He collapsed'

On the day of the incident, she said, the deceased left home earlier than usual as he had to deliver mineral water and isotonic drinks for a tennis match, as part of his duties as the Customs Department's tennis club treasurer.

She said Ahmad Sarbaini went to the MACC office on a motorcycle soon after sending their children to school.

 

At about noon that day, she was informed by a Customs Department officer that her husband had passed away.

 

Maziah said on that same afternoon, she received a call from MACC Federal Territory director Mohamed Yussuf Akope who said Ahmad Sarbaini had "collapsed" ( rebah ).

 

"When he said ' rebah' I thought my husband had a heart attack and accepted it as fate.

"I went to wait at the hospital and six hours later saw my husband's remains with our five children.

"(We) got a shock when we saw his face (it was) as if (it was) smashed to the wall ( hempuk ke dinding) .

"My children and I were traumatised and my brother-in-law, who was also allowed in the mortuary also cried," she said.

She said that she was not informed of the cause of death at the hospital, and only knew he fell from the MACC building through the news.

 

"I felt dejected (terkilan) that I got to know this from the television and not from the MACC.

 

"I was angry with Yussuf for lying to me. I immediately consented for a post mortem and my husband was buried the next day,” she said.

Since then, she said, MACC representatives only met her once, on April 28, 2011, to return all the account books which they seized.

"My family and I have to face with the perception from our friends, family members and the society that he was on the take or had killed himself."

The couple had owned a double-story house, bought in Maziah’s name, and two apartment units.

They also owned three cars - second hand Honda CRV, a Perodua Kancil and a Proton Persona which Maziah had took out a loan for.

She is now the sole breadwinner for the family.

 

Ahmad Sarbaini's death was classified as a death by misadventure by the coroner.

Asked by senior federal counsel Zureen Elina Mat Dom why she was not satisfied with the findings, Maziah replied that she wanted to know how he died and the reasons behind it.

 

The MACC has to be responsible for negligence, as they have knowledge over the arrest and investigations, and the late Ahmad Sarbaini was placed under their care, Maziah said.

 

The hearing continues tomorrow after Justice Kamaluddin’s visit to the MACC office in Jalan Cochrane.

Judge to visit site where Sarbaini was found dead