IPOH, Aug 14 — The High Court here was told today that the action of a senior police officer chasing a victim at high speed before crashing into him was described as a very dangerous act and showed “extraordinary rashness”.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz in his rebuttal said that DSP Mohd Nazri Abdul Razak’s action of chasing Muhammad Zaharif Affendi Muhd Zamrie at close range was done with the knowledge that the act could result in death.

He said the accused was found not slowing down the Perodua Ativa he was driving even after passing a bump in the school area, but instead continued to follow closely before crashing into the victim at an intersection.

“The act by the accused was not only imminently dangerous, it is extraordinarily rash, it is crystal clear evidence of deliberate chase and tailgating by the accused against an unknown victim, a stranger, by following him closely after he left the school grounds.

“And when the accused got the opportunity, he hit him from the rear at the intersection, where the victim did not know that someone was actually behind him so close, chasing him,” he said.

Replying to doubts claimed by the defence, Afzainizam stressed that the absence of tyre tread marks on the victim’s body was not proof that the teenager had not been run over, instead citing the testimony of a pathologist that the thick clothing factor may have protected the marks although the possibility of the incident still exists.

Regarding the Event Data Recorder (EDR) data, Afzainizam said the speed and brake application information of the accused’s vehicle was obtained through special software by Perodua’s technical assistant who extracted the data without having to remove the hardware from the vehicle to maintain the integrity of the report analysis.

Judge Datuk Bhupindar Singh Gucharan Singh Preet set October 28 to decide whether Mohd Nazri, 46, should be called to defend himself on the charge of murdering Muhammad Zaharif Affendi, 17.

The prosecution was led by Afzainizam, assisted by Nasrul Hadi Abdul Ghani and Monisha Pandey, while the accused was represented by lawyers Datuk M. Athimulan, Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid and Aiman Hakim Kamaruzzaman.

Mohd Nazri is charged with killing the teenager near Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Jati here, between 11.55am and 12.32pm, December 15, 2023.

The senior police officer is charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the death penalty or a minimum prison sentence of 30 to 40 years, and if not sentenced to death, he must be whipped not less than 12 strokes of the cane. — Bernama