THE Shah Alam High Court today ordered the release on bail of two juveniles as they stand trial for the murder of former Cradle Fund CEO Nazrin Hassan.

Justice Ab Karim Ab Rahman imposed RM50,000 bail each, with two different sureties for both boys.

The judge also instructed several conditions for the boys to follow, including to hand over their international passports.

On March 12, the two boys – both not named as they are juveniles – and Nazrin’s wife Samirah Muzaffar were jointly charged with the murder.

Samirah’s Indonesian maid, Eka Wahayu Lestari, was also charged in absentia.

The trio claimed trial. Bail is normally not offered in murder cases.

“There are no reasonable grounds to believe that the boys committed the murder,” the judge said in the court’s findings.

“The court has hereby decided to release the two but with several conditions. The two must be able to report themselves at the nearest police station every week. Both must be at home from 6pm to 6am everyday.

“The two sureties must also make sure that the boys will come to court when the trial starts.

“The boys must not be at any public space other than for religious purposes or learning purposes. The boys must not leave the district or town they are living in and are not allowed to leave the country,” said the judge.

Deputy public prosecutor Jamil Aripin then asked for bail to be set at RM20,000 while the lawyer for the two defendants, Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, asked for RM15,000.

However, Ab Karim felt that both amounts were unreasonable and imposed RM50,000 for the two teenagers.

Hisyam said he was happy with the ruling and thanked the judge for making a fair judgment.

His colleague S. Leonard added that the boys are innocent until proven guilty.

“Justice has been served. I am grateful for the judgment today,” Leonard said.

Family members and close friends of the two accused were happy when the decision was read out by Ab Karim.

Last week, Hisyam told the high court that it could use its discretion to allow bail as both defendants were below 16 when the alleged offence occurred.

The Indonesian woman was charged in absentia.

The four were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code to be read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum death sentence.

No plea was recorded from the 43-year-old woman and the two siblings.

The charge under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

According to the charge sheet, the trio and Eka were accused of committing the offence between 11.30pm on June 13 and 4am on June 14 last year at a house in Damansara, Petaling Jaya.

In the first post-mortem conducted on Nazrin’s remains in June, Kuala Lumpur Hospital pathologists concluded that he died of blast injuries after his mobile phone, which was being charged next to his bed, exploded.

Fire and Rescue Department investigators later discovered traces of petrol in the bedroom.

Police then reclassified the case as murder and questioned several family members.

Last week, a second post-mortem revealed that Nazrin died of multiple head injuries.

The Malaysian Insight also learnt that the second autopsy report revealed that the victim did not sustain blast injuries to the head, as stated in the first post-mortem report. – March 27, 2019.