The 16th prosecution witness, who is also a friend of the victim, recounted that during the altercation in the Dormitory Room 5 Belian, both the victim and the 11th accused exchanged punches while the first, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth accused circled them.
"I was on the top (of a bunk bed) and saw the victim and the 11th accused punching each other," said the witness when testifying before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.
Thirteen students, aged between 16 and 19, are jointly charged with the murder of Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat, 17, at Dormitory Room 7 Resak and 5 Belian, Lahad Datu Vocational College, between 9.00 pm on March 21 this year and 7.38 am the following day (March 22).
They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same law, which provides the death penalty or imprisonment of 30 to 40 years and up to 12 strokes of the cane upon conviction.
According to the witness, the incident started with the first accused asking the victim to engage in a one-on-one fight before asking the latter to choose an opponent to fight in the centre of the room, at which point the 11th accused volunteered to fight the victim.
Questioned by lawyer Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki, the witness said he saw the victim punch the 11th accused in the left rib, causing him to fall in pain but was unaware that the accused had sustained a bruise from the punch.
Also appearing for the prosecution, were deputy public prosecutors Nulg Juhn Tao and Batrisyia Mohd Khusri
Eight of the 13 accused are represented by lawyers Datuk Ram Singh, Kamaruddin Mohmad Chinki and Chen Wen Jye, while the remaining five are represented by lawyers Mohamad Zairi, Abdul Ghani Zelika, Vivian Thien, Jhassany P Kang and Kusni Ambotuwo.
-- BERNAMA
