Police officer and four others freed of criminal conspiracy

KUALA LUMPUR: Five men, including a police officer, were acquitted and discharged by the Sessions Court here yesterday on a charge of criminal conspiracy to commit murder.

Judge Amernudin Ahmad acquitted and discharged ASP Haris Faddila Hasim, 40; former policemen Mohd Nizam Manshor, 35, and Indra Zaidi Zamani, 33; businessman Lau Ngik Yin, 46, and Lau’s personal body guard, Zainuddin Rosman, 37, without calling for their defence. Amernudin made the decision at the end of the prosecution case after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against all the accused.

“The burden of the prosecution is to ensure there is no lacunae in the case, however, it exists in this case,” he added.

The five men were charged with committing the offence at a hotel in Jalan Bukit Bintang here between early April and June 15, 2015.

The charge, under Section 120 B(1) of the Penal Code, read together with Section 115 of the same law, carries and imprisonment for up to seven years, and is liable to fine, if found guilty.

Lawyer Gobind Singh Deo represented Haris, while lawyer Jackie Loy represented Lau and lawyer T Shashi represented Mohd Nizam, Indra Zaidi and Zainuddin. The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Ezrene Zakariah. — Bernama