KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29 — The High Court here was told that a man’s DNA was found on the gas cylinder found in the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school which was believed to have been used to cause the fire that razed the building and killed 23 of its occupants two years ago.
Investigating officer of Bukit Aman Classified Criminal Investigation Unit, Inspector Mohamad Fairol Abu Bakar said the man’s DNA sample was obtained on the gas cylinder valve.
However, the man’s DNA did not match the DNA profile of either of the two accused in the case, he said during cross-examination by Haijan Omar representing the two accused at the trial before Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah today.
Mohamad Fairol, who is the 37th prosecution witness, said that during the tragedy, he was the criminal investigating officer at the Wangsa Maju District Police Headquarters, and was responsible in handling the case materials and exhibits, including those obtained at the scene, from the victims and the accused.
Meanwhile, another prosecution witness, Assistant Medical Officer at Kuala Lumpur Hospital Forensic Medicine Department, Muhd Yunus Muhamad Nor, said that on the day of the incident, he registered all the 23 bodies.
Muhd Yunus, who was responsible for registering, receiving and handing over the bodies in the forensic department, said the bodies were brought in from 10.45am to 12.30pm, on the same day the tragedy occurred.
“After the registration was completed, I sent the bodies to the medical officer for post-mortem,” he said when during examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Nurakmal Farhan Aziz.
The witness said the post-mortem was conducted by four medical officers, namely Dr S. Kunasilan, Dr Nurliza Abdullah, Dr Siew Sheue Feng and Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi.
Two 16-year-old boys were charged with killing the 23 occupants of the tahfiz school in Jalan Keramat Hujung, Kampung Datuk Keramat, Wangsa Maju, here between 4.15am and 6.45am, on September 14, 2017.
The two accused, now aged 18, each face 23 counts of murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same sentence, which provides a mandatory death sentence, upon conviction.
The hearing will continue on February 18. — Bernama
