THE Court of Appeal was told today that the blood spatter on the wall of the burnt room where Cradle Fund chief executive officer Nazrin Hassan’s body was found, matches the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of the deceased.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari said Bukit Aman forensic officer Nizam Hussain (39th prosecution witness) confirmed that the pattern of the blood splatter was consistent with the effects of blunt force, and not from gunshots or an explosion.

“The witness also confirmed that it occurred before the fire because it was under the soot from the fire.

“Nizam’s testimony clearly shows that the witness is an expert and has extensive experience and observations regarding blood spatter at the scene,” he said when giving his submission in the prosecution’s appeal against the Shah Alam High Court’s decision to acquit Nazrin’s widow, Samirah Muzaffar, 48, and her two teenage sons, currently aged 20 and 17, of murdering Nazrin.

Fifteen cotton swabs containing “blood spatter” samples taken from the crime scene were sent to the Chemistry Department for analysis to further corraborate the forensic officer’s testimony, he said.

“After analysis, a chemist from the Chemistry Department, S. Jayasilan (43rd prosecution witness), confirmed that three cotton swabs matched the DNA profile of the deceased (Nazrin),” he said.

“This also supports the appellant’s (prosecution) theory that the body of the deceased was moved. Therefore, the appellant argues that there is no reason for this court to reject Nizam’s testimony.”

On the respondent’s lawyer’s argument that the blood spatter was only found five months after the incident on November 5, 2018, and C.Tharmalingan (34th prosecution witness) not finding the blood spatter when he visited the scene despite being a more experienced forensic officer, Amril said the witness was never questioned about the blood spatter on the wall.

“Tharmalingam only explained in detail his role in the case during the corss-examination. He mentioned that he took the floor boards as evidence so that a DNA profiling could be done to support the claim that the deceased had died at the scene,” he said.

“He (Tharmalingam) never provided any testimony on the blood spatter.”

A three-judge panel led by Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, sitting together with Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Azhahari Kamal Ramli, set October 23 to continue hearing the submission.

The Shah Alam High Court freed Samirah and the two teenagers on June 21 last year after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against them.

The three of them and an Indonesian woman, Eka Wahyu Lestari, who is still at large, were charged with killing Nazrin, 45, at his house in Mutiara Damansara between 11.30pm on June 13, 2018, and 4am the following day. – Bernama, October 17, 2023.