I bought shotgun, cartridges for hunting, says Bill Kayong murder accused

MIRI: Mohamad Fitri Pauzi, the sole accused in the murder of land rights activist Bill Kayong, told the High Court here yesterday that he possessed a shotgun and cartridges for hunting purposes.

Testifying as the first witness for the defence, he told the court that he bought the shotgun and cartridges from an individual known as ‘Tony’ in Long Lama town sometime in January 2016, roughly five months before his arrest over the murder.

“I bought the shotgun and the bullets from Tony for hunting purposes,” the 30-year-old said, having earlier chosen to testify from the witness stand.

When questioned by counsel Ranbir Singh, Mohamad Fitri told the court that he handed over the shotgun to a friend named Lau Lee Shen to be kept on the morning of May 30, 2016 as he (Mohamad Fitri) did not possess a valid firearms licence.

He added, however, that he took back the shotgun from Lau later the same night as he was going hunting near a logging camp in Long Lama, and returned the firearm to Lau on May 31, 2016.

Responding to another question on why he could remember the dates of May 30 and 31 so well, Mohamad Fitri said it was because Gawai Dayak fell the following day.

He also testified that prior to being arrested at 5pm on June 30, 2016, he had been working for a year at the Blue Post KTV as ‘bouncer’, with a seven-day work week from 9pm to 7am depending on the request of customers.

When asked where he was on the morning of June 21, 2016 (day of the murder), Mohamad Fitri said that after finishing work at 7am, he went to a food stall at a coffee shop located between Jalan Sukma and Lorong Desa Senadin 2C.

Prior to that, at about 7.20am, he stopped by the road near Maybank, not far from Grand Palace Hotel, to meet a friend known as ‘Man’ who wanted to pay him for a deer which he had bought from the accused on May 31.

“I arrived at the food stall at Senadin at about 8.20am as I was driving slowly because my vehicle had a problem. I left the stall at 10am to return to my house at Jalan Dawai 1, Pujut 4D,” he said.

Responding further to another question regarding a face mask presented as evidence in court, Mohamad Fitri said he had seen the face mask while in custody following his arrest.

He said while sitting with his hands cuffed at his back, a policeman had placed the mask around the entire part of his head before taking it off.

Meanwhile, when examined by deputy public prosecutor Nur Nisla Latif, Mohamad Fitri denied that he went to the food stall in Desa Senadin to monitor Bill’s vehicle and movement, owing to the stall being located close to Bill’s house.

He also disagreed with the DPP’s statement that he was in Desa Senadin at 6.30am on June 21, 2016 to observe Bill and follow his car to the traffic light before shooting him.

Mohamad Fitri also denied that the evidence he provided on his encounter with Man, the transaction between him and Man and the car problem, were fake and fictitious.

Earlier, Judge Ravinthtan N. Paramaguru allowed the defence counsel’s application to summon a prosecution witness to testify for the defence.

Mohamad Fitri is charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for the murder of Bill Kayong. He faces the mandatory death penalty if found guilty.