Severe force injury cause of death: Doc
Published on: Thursday, January 25, 2024
By: Lagatah Toyos
Dennis Anak Enit (centre) being led to court yesterday.
TAWAU: The High Court here heard on Wednesday that the e-hailing driver’s death in January last year was caused by a severe force injury to the neck.
This was stated by Queen Elizabeth Hospital’s Forensic Pathologist Dr Muhammad Uzair Ahmad Suriani, on the seventh day of the trial involving former Intelligence Chief of Staff of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (Esscom) Datuk Mat Zaki Md Zain, 58, along with six police officers and personnel and a woman.
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The trial was heard before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.
The 19th witness said he found 21 injuries when doing an external inspection of the deceased’s body during post-mortem on Jan 18, last year at the Tawau Hospital’s Forensic Medicine Unit.
According to him, the deceased’s death was caused by a nine-centimetre deep wound on his neck that severed the important structures on his neck, notably the jugular vein blood vessel on the left side, the carotid artery and the cricoid cartilage.
He was responding to the examination-in-chief of Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Mohammad Fakhrurrazi Ahmad, who asked the cause of the victim’s death.
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To a question whether the victim can be saved if given immediate treatment, Dr. Uzair said, in his opinion, the victim could not be saved because the wound severed the main blood vessels on the neck.
In fact, he said, the wound was enough to cause the victim’s death.
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He said that he was able to confirm that the body he was examining was Nurman Bakaratu (the victim) based on fingerprint and DNA profile analysis from the chemical report of the victim’s biological daughter, Nurima Juli (his ex-wife), as well as the specimen of the victim’s nail clippings.
In his written statement, the witness said the victim’s injuries on the right arm, the back of the left hand and the left palm were consistent with injuries before death and self-defence injuries inflicted by sharp objects.
Other injuries were difficult to identify, whether they occurred before death due to the process of rotting and caterpillar infestation.
He said the estimated period of death from the date of the autopsy was four to six days based on the decomposition of the body.
The corpse was already swollen and bulging due to the process of decomposition and there were maggots in the victim’s clothes and entire body parts.
Answering the cross-examination by counsel Datuk Ansari Abdullah whether blood would splash on the roof of the Myvi car based on the wound if the victim was sitting in the driver’s seat, the witness stated that it depends on the position of the victim when the wound occurred.
To a question by counsel Datuk Ram Singh, how long a person with such injury will live or be safe, the witness said the injury to the main blood vessel in the left neck caused severe bleeding and thus, resulting in quick death.
The witness also answered that the wound on the neck caused severe bleeding although it did not cause immediate death, it could have caused the deceased to be weak and lifeless, and therefore, he could not be sure whether the victim died inside or outside the car.
Ram was asking if the victim was able to walk out of the Myvi and collapse (after the injury).
The accused, Mat Zaki, faces two charges of abetting six others - Rosdi Rastam, 44, Dennis Anak Enit, 44, Fabian Anak Rungan, 43, Khairul Azman Bakar, 47, Mohd Azlan Sakaran, 39, and civilian, Vivien Fabian, 34, to kill Nurman Bakaratu, 62, at an oil palm estate near Jalan Anjur Juara, Jalan Apas, Mile 5 between 7.30 and 11.30pm on Jan 13, last year.
He was also accused of abetting John Kennedy Anak Sanggah, 44, to kill the victim at the same time and location.
He was charged under Section 109 of the Penal Code read with Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries a death sentence or imprisonment of up to 40 years and caning not more than 12 times, if convicted.
The other seven accused were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code read with Section 34 of the same Code, which carries the death penalty or imprisonment of up to 40 years and can be whipped not more than 12 times, if convicted.
The prosecution was led by DPP Khairul Azreem Mamat consisting Rohaiza Abd Rahman; Lina Hanini Ismail; Mohammad Fakhrurrazi Ahmad and Low Win Hui.
The accused; Rosdi was represented by Ansari and Erveena Ansari; Dennis (Hairul Vaiyron and Luke Ressa Balang); Fabian (Sharata Masyaroh John Ridwan Lincon, Zahbia Ophent and Mohamad Zairi Zainal Abidin).
Vivien, John, Khairul Azman, Mat Zaki and Mohd Azlan were represented by Ram and Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki.
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