Asst Supt Zulkarnain Samsudin leaving the Shah Alam High Court after testifying in the Altantuya Shaariibuu trial on Day 32. (Pic from Star newspapers) |
Asst Supt Zulkarnain Samsudin’s claim that the several bills and letters he seized from Kpl Sirul Azhar Umar's flat in November led to the mistake he made in a police report backfired on him when he was caught by his own answers later.
He was asked by counsel Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin to explain why the address in the copy of the police report he had was different from the copies held by the other parties, including the judge.
His version stated Kpl Sirul Azhar's unit number as 5-2-4 while the version held by the others was 5-3-7. Kpl Sirul Azhar had stayed at 5-3-7.
ASP Zulkarnain, 34, replied that the mistake happened when he had referred to one of the bills or letters which was addressed to unit number 5-2-4.
When questioned by DPP Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah, ASP Zulkarnain said he realised the mistake in the unit number when he was still at the flat. However, he only managed to amend the mistake on Dec 13 last year. He said that as he also handled other cases, he had forgotten to amend the mistake until later, resulting in the delay.
But, during cross-examination by Abdul Razak Baginda's counsel Wong Kian Kheong, ASP Zulkarnain admitted that he had not included the bills and letters in the search list although they had been seized from the flat.
Wong: Do you know that Section 63 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) requires you to note down all seized items in the search list?
ASP Zulkarnain: No.
Wong: Did you hand the bills and letters over to ASP Tonny?
ASP Zulkarnain: No.
Wong: Then, am I right to assume that those bills and letters are still in your possession?
ASP Zulkarnain: I don't agree.
Wong: So where are they now?
ASP Zulkarnain: I've thrown them away.
(At this point, gasps were heard throughout the courtroom)
Wong: Thrown away? Let me remind you that this is your sworn testimony. Did you jot down the throwing away in your investigations diary?
ASP Zulkarnain: No.
Wong: Did you tell the investigating officer about this?
ASP Zulkarnain: No.
Wong: Do you know that under Section 413 of the CPC, any seized documents must be referred to a magistrate before it can be disposed of?
ASP Zulkarnain: I'm not aware of it.
C/Insp Azilah Hadri's counsel Hazman Ahmad challenged the existence of the bills and letters saying it was a made-up excuse to reply to the questions posed by the defence on the discrepancy of the flat unit number. That is why they were not recorded in the search list.
ASP Zulkarnain denied the contention.
Later, during re-examination by DPP Tun Abd Majid, the witness said he did not include the bills and letters in the search list and his police report because they were not considered case evidence.
The hearing continues next month.
