Vocational college student murder: We saw victim beaten in hostel room - Witness

The prosecution witnesses, however, said that they did not report the incident to the hostel warden for fear of being beaten like the victim.

The seventh prosecution witness, during the examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Batrisyia Mohd Khusri, told the court that the victim was beaten by the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth accused in Room 7, Resak.

"The first accused punched Ijat (Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat) in the stomach. Ijat bent down to protect himself and appeared to be holding back the pain," he said during the trial before Judge Datuk Duncan Sikodol.

Thirteen students, aged between 16 and 19, are charged with jointly murdering Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat, 17, in Rooms 7 Resak and 5 Belian at Kolej Vokasional Lahad Datu between 9 pm on March 21 and 7.39 am on March 22.

The charge, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same code, carries the death penalty or imprisonment for 30 to 40 years and not more than 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.

Batrisyia: When you saw the first accused punch Ijat in the stomach, what were the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth accused doing at that time?

The seventh witness: After seeing the first accused hit Ijat, the four of them went in and began beating him.

Responding to Batrisyia's question about the parts of Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat's body where he was beaten, the witness said he saw the third accused strike the head, the fifth and sixth accused hit the body, and the fourth accused used a phone charger cable to strike the victim's back.

The witness also said that on that night, he and Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat had dinner in the college's dining hall and performed the Terawih prayer before returning to their hostel rooms.

"We headed to Ijat's room, but I went to a friend's room at 6 Belian. After 10 minutes, I returned to room 7, Resak, where I saw Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat surrounded by the five accused.

"They asked about the money belonging to the third and fourth accused, and I heard Ijat admit to taking it. He then handed over RM50 and RM20, but while doing so, the first accused suddenly punched him in the stomach," he said.

Meanwhile, the eighth prosecution witness told the court that he saw the first accused punch Mohamad Nazmie Aizzat in the face, while the fifth accused shoved the victim into a locker in Room 7, Resak.

The witness said that there were three other individuals with the first and fifth accused during the incident, but he was unsure of their identities and could not recall their actions.

The prosecution is also being carried out by DPPs Nur Nisla Abd Latif and Ng Juhn Tao.

Eight of the 13 accused are represented by lawyers Ram, Kamaruddin, and Chen Wen Jye, while the remaining five are defended by Mohamad Zairi, Abdul Ghani Zelika, Vivian Thien, Jhassany P Kang, and Kusni Ambotuwo.

The trial continues tomorrow.

-- BERNAMA