'Blunt force trauma, classified sudden death': Family demands answers

Summary

• The death of an accountant leads to questions from her family members after the discovery of injuries to the victim's head.

• The victim's brother-in-law Zainal Abidin Ali says the autopsy on Nurul Aina Mohd Karim found bruises on her arms, nape and thighs as well as injuries on the back of her skull.

• He says the family believes Nurul Aina was murdered and questioned why her spouse was not arrested to assist the investigation.

The death of an accountant, categorised as sudden death by the police, has raised questions among her heirs following the discovery of injuries on the victim's head.

Zainal Abidin Ali (above, right) claimed that the autopsy conducted on his sister-in-law, Nurul Aina Mohd Karim, found several bruises, including on her arms, nape and thighs.

Injuries were also found on the back of her skull, he claimed.

Nurul Aina, 37, was found dead at her home in Bandar D'Marina, Kuantan, Pahang on March 20.

Zainal said the autopsy analysis determined that Nurul Aina’s cause of death was due to head injuries resulting from blunt force trauma.

“I got a phone call around 12.30pm from Nurul Aina’s husband, who said that Nurul Aina was gone, and we rushed from Johor Bharu to Kuantan.

“When we arrived, there were already many police officers at the deceased’s house.

“They were questioning the husband as he was the last person with her while she was alive, besides her assistant named Andak,” he told a press conference organised by Eliminating Death and Abuse in Custody Together (Edict) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor today.

Zainal said the police had also informed them that night about a fracture in Nurul Aina's skull from the back to the front, as well as bruising on her brain.

At the same time, the family had noticed bruises on her body, right thigh and right hand, he added.

“So, we suspect that this is actually a murder case,” he said.

Zainal added that Nurul Aina's family and he are surprised that the police have yet to arrest her husband to assist in the investigation.

Lodged police reports

Zainal's wife and Nurul Aina's sister, Khairun Munirah Karim, 39, claimed the police have also not yet recorded statements from the victim's family members.

Disappointed with the outcome of her sister's case, Khairun, together with several other family members, filed more than five police reports on March 22, 23, 25, and 26.

Another report was filed on April 15 to urge the authorities to take further action.

Meanwhile, Edict executive director M Visvanathan urged Bukit Aman to take over the investigation from the Kuantan police.

According to Khairun, her late sister had previously filed a police report regarding domestic violence allegedly committed by the victim's husband in 2018.

Nurul Aina's husband is a former soldier. The couple has two children, aged five and nine.

It is understood that the couple's two children were not at home at the time of the incident.

Case still being probed

When contacted, Kuantan district police chief Wan Mohd Zahari Wan Busu confirmed that his department had received a report of Nurul Aina's death on the day of the incident.

He said the police were conducting further investigations into the case and would call the family members - including Nurul Aina's husband - for their statements.

"The SDR (sudden death report) does not mean the case is closed.

“If there is further evidence, we will reclassify the case," he said.

Zahari also denied allegations that the police did not record a statement from the victim's family.

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