Aminulrasyid case: Friend did not expect police to fire 15 shots, court told

A private college student told the High Court here today that he had suggested to Aminulrasyid Amzah, who was shot dead by police almost five years ago, that he stop his car when they were being chased by a police patrol unit.

Muhamad Azamuddin Omar, 20, testifying in the civil suit filed by Aminulrasyid's family against Corporal Jenain Subi and four others, said instead his friend continued to drive the car.

When questioned by lawyer Zulkifly Omar who represented Jenain, Muhamad Azamuddin, who at the time of the incident was 15 years old, said: "I suggested that he (Aminulrasyid) stop to discuss (with the police) but he kept quiet and continued to drive the car."

"If you were the one driving the car and was being chased (by the police) at that time, would you have stopped?" asked Zulkifly, to which Muhamad Azamuddin answered "probably".

Muhamad Azamuddin, however, agreed with a suggestion by Senior Federal Counsel Normastura Ayub, who represented the other four defendants, that Aminulrasyid should have stopped the car when told to do so, furthermore the police patrol car which chased them had also switched on the siren.

The witness also agreed with a suggestion by Normastura that the shooting incident happened because of Aminulrasyid's failure to stop the car.

Aminulrasyid's mother, Norsiah Mohammad, 66, and his elder sister Nor Azura, 45, as plaintiffs, named Jenain, former Selangor Police Chief Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (now Inspector-General of Police), Shah Alam District Police Chief, the Inspector-General of Police and the Government of Malaysia as defendants.

The plaintiff's are seeking compensation of almost RM50 million on the grounds that Aminulrasyid's death was due to gunshot wounds in the head caused by Jenain's carelessness.

In November 2013, the Appeals Court upheld the High Court's decision to acquit Jenain from a charge of causing Aminulrasyid's death while chasing him in Jalan Tarian 11/2, Section 11, here between 1.10 am to 2am on April 26, 2010.

When acquitting Jenain in 2012, the High Court decided that Jenain had no intentions of causing Aminulrasyid's death, but shot the car the 15-year-old was driving, with the intention of stopping it.

Replying to a question from lawyer N.Surendran, who represented Aminulrasyid's family, Muhamad Azamuddin said he did not expect the police to fire the shots just because his good friend was driving it fast.

He also did not expect the police to fire 15 gunshots towards the Iswara Aeroback car he and Aminulrasyid were in during the incident in the early hours of April 26, 2010.

Muhamad Azamuddin also did not expect the car his friend was driving would be shot by the police when Aminulrasyid was trying his best to return to his home in Section 11 here.

"Aminulrasyid was driving fast because he was afraid and felt guilty to his family as he had made a big mistake by driving the car without his mother's permission," he said.

The hearing before Judge Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim continues on May 5 and 15.