The witness who searched corporal Sirul Azhar Umar's house left the Shah Alam High Court puzzled by his contradicting answers on the accused's house number in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder trial today.

Two documents - the search list and police report - both made by ASP Zulkarnain Samsudin ( right ), 34, had listed Sirul's house number as 5-2-4 before being corrected to 5-3-7.

The search list submitted as P73, was written '5-2-4' as the search location but was cancelled out with a line and replaced with '5-3-7'.

During re-examination by DPP Tun Majid Tun Hamzah, the police officer said he had corrected the mistake inside the house itself after noticing the correct number which is displayed prominently outside Sirul's house door.

However, yesterday he said he confiscated some utility bills and some letters to help him get the full address of Sirul's address.

Tun Majid then quizzed him: "Isn't it enough that you know the house address was 5-3-7 as corrected by yourself in the search list?

"Why do you need the bills and letters for the address and how did you get the address wrong again in your police report later?"

Bills, letters excluded

Zulkarnain reiterated that he had confiscated those documents in order to get the street and area name without explaining why he had repeated his mistake of Sirul's house number.

Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda's counsel Wong Kian Kheong ( left ) then pointed out that the police officer failed to include those bills and letters taken in the search list.

Wong: Do you agree that you did not include the utility bills and letters in your search list as part of the items that you confiscated alongside the jacket and jewellery?

Zulkarnain: Yes, I agree.

Wong: Do you realise that in Section 63 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) to list down all items that are seized from the search location?

Zulkarnain: No, I did not realise.

Wong: Do you agree that in your hand-over form to investigating officer ASP Tonny Lunggan, the bills and letters were not listed?

Zulkarnain: Yes, I agree.

Wong: If the bills and letters were not handed over to Lunggan, can we assume the said documents are still with you?

Zulkarnain: No, I disagree.

Wong: Where are those documents now?

Zulkarnain: I think they have been thrown away.

Wong: Did you tell Lunggan about throwing away those documents?

Zulkarnain: No, I did not.

Wong : Do you know that under S413 CPC, all documents must be brought to a magistrate before it can be disposed of?

Zulkarnain: No.

It was also admitted by Zulkarnain to the DPP that he took 36 days to correct the same error made in the police report on the search at Sirul's house on Nov 7 last year.

'I was busy with other cases'

The correction request by Zulkarnain was recorded on December 13 last year - 36 days from when the original report was made and spotted.

"I had called the IT department in Bukit Aman near midnight on Nov 7 but the number was busy. I tried a few more times but I failed to get through.

"I was also busy with other cases. I then remembered about the error and had it corrected in December last year," he explained.

Chief inspector Azilah Hadri's counsel Hazman Ahmad then challenged Zulkarnain's testimonial by saying he had not noted the error in Sirul's house number in November but only in December 2006.

He also said the amendments on the search list was done at a later date as it did not carry Sirul's counter signature to affirm that Zulkarnain had edited the house number.

The Kuala Lumpur Contingent headquarters-based officer denied both allegations.

However, Zulkarnain revealed to the court that he failed to inform the prosecution team the existence of the erroneous reports.

The hearing resumes in September 3 when the trial-within-a-trial will take place to contest whether the words said by Sirul to Zulkarnain: "I kept the jewellery in my jacket" and had nodded and pointed at the jewellery with his finger when they were at Sirul's Kota Damansara house - is admissible or not.

Azilah, 31, and Sirul, 36, are charged with killing Altantuya between 10pm on Oct 19 and 1am on Oct 20 last year.

Political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda, 47, is charged with abetting them. All three face the death penalty if convicted.