My First Hand Experience on a Murder Hearing

Last week, my friends and I visited the High Court Shah Alam on 28 September 2010 to hear a murder trial of a Nigerian man, Muhamad Taha Ismad who killed his girlfriend’s child Alyah Eman Hussain bt Abdullah on 6th November 2009. The trial was a continuation from the previous trial that discussed the DNA and evidence found during the search.

• Nigerain Guy
• Killed his girlfriend's child
• 4 years old
• and molested her
• What is happening to the world?

We arrived exactly at 9.00 in the court and three of my friends were there already waited for me there. We entered the court area without any problem from the security which we later learn that the court are opened to pubic and press. The only problem we faced was finding the room for the trial. There are other trials going on about embezzlement and other company stuff which didn’t really raise our interest. The place was filled with smart looking people with coat and briefcase on their hand. We passed by busy looking people which I believe were lawyers, several policeman and most horrific scenes, people with handcuffed and prison shirts. Bumping into them would be the scariest memory of the trip.

Prowling around, we were still looking for the most interesting case. We then found a court room which is still empty and about to start the hearing and asks the permission of the policeman nearby to join the trial but he politely explained that the particular hearing is a private one so he suggested the room above us which were doing the murder trial hearing. We thank him and silently walked to the room pointed. We then entered the courtroom which was already in session. The room was not packed with the attendance of the judge, the prosecutor, the Nigerian suspect and his lawyer and translator, two policemen and a typewriter. There, we also met our fellow UiTM students who were covering the case as well. They seemed bored ad drowsy and we politely to a seat in front of them. On my right, I can see the Nigerian family came for support. The suspect’s mother, whom I assume in the middle of fifties, kept on reading the Koran silently. There is also the presence of several press which then I was later inform, from Utusan Malaysia.

The judge, YB Dato’Abdul Alwi bin Abdullah was a calm man. He listens to the trial closely, took notes and asks for further explanations when there are doubts. The prosecutor, on the other hand was a complete opposite. I have never been to a trial in my life but the prosecutor didn’t strike me as brilliant. He is a bulky Malay man in his middle thirties and in charge as the prosecutor of the case. I have always assume that lawyers are someone who have a way with words, able to manipulate facts and uses words as their weapon but unfortunately, this particular prosecutor wasn’t up for my standards. He was a bit slow, lagging the case and once told off by the judge for being too deliberate. The one scene that caught my attention was when the prosecutor would like to explain to the court on the 29 items found on the crimes scene which later tested by DNA tests while only 5 of the items are related and contributes to the case. The judge told him not to waste his and the court’s time explaining things that are not related to the case.

The witness in the stand was a female DNA specialist who was tasked to tests the evidence found. She later explain that the first stage of the test involve with sketching the evidence found. Next stage is to tests the evidence with DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid) and the findings were a bit shocking and disturbing to me. The claimed to have found several hair strands of the suspect’s hair on the victim’s vagina. The also showed the blood stains on the cushion cover, mattress, t-shirt and towel. There were also semen found on the victim’s singlet and diapers. They also showed the evidence such as the cushion cover and t-shirt which were still covered in dry blood. It almost made me nauseous but I couldn’t stop watching. All this time, the suspect appears nonchalant and unconcerned. Several times, he yawns as though the case had no effect on him. The clock showed I was almost 12.00 noon and my friends and I had to leave for our next class. Although the trial is interesting, we reluctantly had to eave. We then silently made our way out, bowed to the judge and leaves. This certainly won’t be the last time of my court visit. Before, I had always thought that to be in court, we need to be apart of the press or related to the case. And since most courts trials are open to public, I would certainly visit it for the next time. I am glad we are assigned for this assignment since I have always been interested to be a crime journalist and covering crime cases. This certainly has given me the taste of being a journalist.