IPOH: The High Court here was today told that at the time of the collision, the Perodua Ativa car driven by a senior police officer was found to be travelling at a speed of 90.9 kilometres per hour and stop lamp switch (brake light) was not activated, meaning the brake pedal was not pressed at all.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Perodua technical assistant Ameerul Aidil Adha Jamharuddin, 31, said he obtained the information from data recorded by the Antilock Brake System or Vehicle Stability Control (ABS/VSC), a system that stores all vehicle safety operation data. The steering angle data showed -2.5 degrees, and the accelerator was at a maximum of 100 per cent, which was the cause of the Brake Assist (BA) not operating due to the accelerating situation. Ameerul clarified that if the driver had applied the brakes or emergency brakes suddenly, the Antilock Braking System (ABS) data would have been recorded.
The 25th prosecution witness stated that the ABS/VSC recorded only one data point, the Pre-Collisio
n Brake (PB), and no Brake Assist (BA) data was recorded. He explained that PB is a warning to the driver if there is a vehicle or pedestrian in front, while BA is a brake assist if the driver is about to collide. However, BA will not work if the driver overrides this system by swerving, braking, or accelerating the vehicle.
Earlier, Forensic Medicine Specialist Dr Ain Nurfarahana Hamdan, 35, concurred with defence lawyer M. Athimulan, who suggested that Muhammad Zaharif Affendi Muhd Zamrie, 17, suffered a ‘trauma death’ before being confirmed dead about 30 minutes after the collision. During the re-examination by deputy public prosecutor (TPR) Afzainizam Abdul Aziz, Dr Ain suggested that the victim did not die immediately after the collision because the post-mortem examination conducted on Muhammad Zaharif Affendi revealed foam mixed with blood in the respiratory tract. She explained that an example of an injury causing immediate death usually involves the brain stem.
Dr Ain further noted that ‘trauma deat
h’ could be prevented with proper, fast, and effective treatment facilities and access, though she emphasized that the outcome depends on various circumstances. The prosecution was led by TPR Afzainizam, assisted by Nasrul Hadi Abdul Ghani, V. Suloshani, and Low Qin Hui, while Mohd Nazri Abdul Razak, 45, was defended by lawyers M. Athimulan, Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid, and Aiman Hakim Kamaruzzaman.
Mohd Nazri, a senior police officer with the rank of DSP, stands accused of murdering Muhammad Zaharif at Jalan Taman Jati 1 near SMK Jati between 11.45 am and 12.32 pm on December 15, 2023. He was charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty or imprisonment of 30 to 40 years, and a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane if convicted. The trial is set to continue tomorrow.