KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 21 — A witness in the trial of two teenage boys charged with the murder of 23 occupants of Pusat Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah last year, told the High Court here that he heard the sounds of wind blowing during the tragic fire incident.
The tahfiz centre’s former assistant warden Muhammad Umair Al-Fawwaz Mohd Gunawan, 23, said he was sleeping on the first floor when he was awakened at 5.30am on September 14, last year by the hostel warden known as Ustaz Huzaifah.
“As soon as I woke up, I heard the sounds of wind blowing. I only realised it was a fire when I opened the door,” he said adding that he immediately opened another door to the balcony to see the blaze had spread to the second floor.
The 24th prosecution witness said this during examination-in-chief by Kuala Lumpur prosecution director Othman Abdullah.
Elaborating Muhammad Umair Al-Fawwaz said he then tried to gain access to the second floor through the staircase to rescue the students, but was forced back by the intense heat.
The witness said he then hurried down to the ground floor to help some of the students who had escaped from the fire by sliding down a pipeline and by that time a crowd were already in the tahfiz centre compounds to offer assistance.
To a question from Haijan Omar, counsel of the two accused, on whether the centre was installed with fire extinguishers, the witness who had worked at the centre for almost a year said, he had seen two fire extinguishers located at the office and the students’ dormitory.
However, he said he was not sure if the two equipment were functional and that for as long as he was there, no fire drill was ever conducted.
The two boys, who were then 16 years-old, were jointly charged with the murder and causing the death of the 23 people at the Pusat Tahfiz Darul Ittifaqiyah in Jalan Keramat Hujung, Kampung Datuk Keramat, here, between 4.15am and 6.45am on September 14 last year.
They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same law, and faced the mandatory death sentence, if found guilty.
However Section 97(1) of the Child Act 2001 states that a death sentence shall not be pronounced or recorded against a person convicted of an offence if the child is under the age of 18, and in lieu of the death sentence, as provided under Section 97 (2) of the same law, the court shall order the person to be detained at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
The hearing before Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah continues tomorrow. — Bernama
