Vocational college murder accused claims he was coerced to confess

The first accused in the murder trial of Kolej Vokasional Lahad Datu student Nazmie Aizzat Narul Azwan testified in the High Court today, claiming he was coerced into confessing to the crime while in police custody.

Taking the stand as the sixth defence witness, he alleged that the investigating officer had forced him to perform around 50 push-ups, struck him with a rubber hose, and kicked him in the thigh until he admitted to the crime.

“I was also made to do half-squats while recounting the events of that night. As long as we didn’t confess, they kept pressuring us, as if they were ready to beat us again if we refused,” he said during the examination-in-chief by lawyer Kamarudin Chinki.

Testifying before judge Duncan Sikodol, the first accused claimed that the other defendants were also ordered to do push-ups, half-squats, and star jumps. However, he did not witness them being physically assaulted by the investigating officer.

He added that the pressure and punishment during the investigation instilled fear among all the accused, and he himself broke down in tears while in custody.

On Feb 28, Duncan ordered 13 male students, aged 16 to 19, who were jointly charged with murdering Nazmie, 17, in the dormitory room 7 Resak and 5 Belian, Kolej Vokasional Lahad Datu between 9pm on March 21, 2024, and 7.38am on March 22, 2024, to enter their defence.

They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment of 30 to 40 years and up to 12 strokes of the cane.

The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutors Nur Nisla Abdul Latif, Ng Juhn Tao, and Batrisyia Khusri.

Eight of the 13 students are represented by lawyers Kamarudin, Ram Singh, and Chen Wen Jye, while the remaining five are represented by Zairi Zainal Abidin, Abdul Ghani Zelika, Vivian Thien, Jhesseny P Kang, and Kusni Ambotuwo.

The trial resumes tomorrow.

- Bernama

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