No element of force: Accused
Published on: Thursday, May 05, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: No element of force was used in pushing Able Seaman Asrup Raidin into the waters, said one of the three navy personnel charged with causing his death three years ago.Muhammad Zainrudin Nordin, 26, in his defence before Sessions Court Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad on Wednesday, said this in referring to pictures of the re-enactment of the incident prior to the death of Asrup.Zainrudin was referred to the re-enactment pictures of the incident at the lagoon area of the navy's Station Uniform, Labuan in the South China Sea by his counsel.
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According to him, the way the 'actors' in the re-enactment pushed Asrup's shoulder into the waters did not tally with what really happened in the actual incident.He said the re-enactment was more forceful and that in the actual incident, Asrup and the person who pushed his shoulder down were both actually going into the waters and there was no forcing.He explained that it was actually not a case of 'forcing' the shoulder down into the waters but a breathing technique training for Asrup.Zainrudin also said after the training, Asrup was still swimming and could swim to the platform of a boat nearby.
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He also said he did not hear Asrup scream "Allahuakbar, tidak larat and tidak tahan (Allahuakbar, tired and cannot stand).Zainrudin was jointly charged with Mohd Hood Mad Hasib, 26, and Muhammad Fadli Zaini, 25, with causing the drowning death of Asrup, 27, at 7.36pm on Dec 3, 2013 at the lagoon area of the navy's Station Uniform, Labuan.
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The offence under Section 304 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to 30 years and a fine.Testifying further during examination-in-chief by counsel Ram Singh, Zainrudin said Asrup was still alive when he was brought to the platform of a boat and that he noticed foam coming out from Asrup's mouth and that his body was still, his teeth clenched and that his mouth was difficult to open.Zainrudin said he did not know why Asrup was in such condition.To a question, he said Asrup was given some training in the waters because he failed to answer questions about the nearby Terumbu Ubi station but that no action was to be taken against Asrup if he failed to finish the training sessions on time.To another question on why the banner welcoming Asrup was made, Zainrudin said it was based on the voice of majority of personnel in the island to welcome new personnel to the station.Zainrudin also told the court that Asrup was once called in for questioning regarding a false report lodged by Asrup that he was being ragged and beaten by all personnel in the island. He said he received the information on the false report from an officer at Lima Station.He said no action was taken against Asrup and that he and another officer only advised Asrup not to lodge any false report in the future.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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