Filipino: I didn’t kill Grab driver
Published on: Saturday, February 03, 2024
By: Jo Ann Mool
Arsit being escorted at the courthouse.
Kota Kinabalu: A 24-year-old paperless Filipino charged with murdering a Grab driver in Tuaran four years ago denied his involvement.
Arsit Indanan in his defence before High Court Judge Leonard David Shim on Friday said he was not involved in murdering Mohammad Hanafiee Jaffar.
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Arsit was accused of murdering Mohammad Hanafiee, 27, inside a Proton Saga FLX car between 4am and 5am on May 25, 2019 at the roadside of Jalan Marabahai at Tuaran.
Initially, Arsit was jointly charged with a local Amru Al Asy Japri to committing the crime under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the death penalty on conviction but the latter was on Jan 31, 2023 given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) and became the prosecution witness.
Testifying further, Arsit said he did not know the reason the police arrested him.
Arsit said on May 25, 2019, with his friend Amru, he took an e-hailing car to Tuaran from Kingfisher Park as they wanted to go to Amru’s house.
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He said they booked a car with the Grab application using his handphone.
To a series of questions by assigned counsel Mohd Ari Nadzrah Abd Rahman regarding their journey to Tuaran, Arsit said he did not remember what happened when they reached Tuaran and could not remember the time they went there and their arrival time.
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Arsit said they arrived at Kg Marabahai in Tuaran but he did not remember what happened when they reached there but saw Amru, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, getting out of the car while he remained seated in the rear passenger seat behind the driver.
He also said he did not remember what Amru did when he got out of the car and he did not do anything as he was sleeping and did not do anything to the driver.
To his knowledge, Amru did not fight with the Grab driver, said Arsit.
To a question, Arsit said he did not see the Grab driver being murdered after he woke up from his sleep and that he only saw the driver sitting in the front passenger seat and that he did not know whether the driver was still alive or dead.
He said he had no memory of anything after taking the Grab on May 25, 2019.
To a series of questions, Arsit said he did not speak to the Grab driver and can’t remember who drove the car.
Arsit confessed that he was drunk on the night of May 25, 2019 because he was drinking alcohol at 1Borneo before taking the ride.
“The last thing I remember was walking outside. We hang out by the beach in Teluk Likas. I was with Amru. I do not remember the date we hung out at the beach,” said Arsit, adding that Amru did not tell him that he (Arsit) had killed the Grab driver.
Arsit said he did remember the police showing him the weapon used to kill the Grab driver.
To another question, Arsit said he did not know that the Grab driver who took him to Tuaran was dead and that he did not remember that he and Amru had dumped the driver’s body on Tuaran beach.
Meanwhile, to a suggestion by the prosecution during cross-examination that he actually did not sleep during his journey from Kingfisher to Kg Marabahai, Tuaran, Arsit replied that he was sleeping.
The court directed both parties to file and change their written submissions by Feb 21 after the defence closed its case.
Leonard also directed submission in reply, if any, to be file by Feb 28 and set March 19 for clarification of submissions.
Deputy Public Prosecutors Rozanna Abdul Hadi and Siti Hajar Mazlan prosecuted.
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