Murder accused’s dad: I’ll never disown him

SUNGAI PETANI: “He will always be my son, regardless of the verdict. I will never ever disown him.”

This was the reaction from the father of Mohd Affandi Fauzi Ramlee, who was charged with the murder of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son Muhammad Qhairullah Abdul Hadi, whose decomposing body was found stuffed in a cooler box at Paya Nahu Flats here last month.

The 63-year-old security guard, who wished to be known only as Ramlee, described the murder charge as fate.

“If it has been destined that this is the end for him, I will accept it as fate.

“I acknowledge the wrath of the people on my son, but I will never disown him, no matter what,” he told the New Straits Times as Affandi was led into the magistrate’s court here yesterday.

There was a lump in his throat as Ramlee, who was wearing a baseball cap and a pair of dark sunglasses, spoke about his son’s fate.

“I am wearing these sunglasses to cover my tears. I don’t know what to say. I have yet to figure out how I am able to help him.

“I do not have the means to engage a lawyer to defend him.”

Ramlee, who was accompanied by his daughter and relatives, sat under a tree near the courts complex to wait for the proceedings to end, to catch a glimpse of Affandi, whom he had not met for almost two weeks.

“My son had asked if we could send him some meals.

“Other than that, he did not talk much.

“It was just a short conversation before the police took him to the Alor Star prison.”

Ramlee, who lives a few blocks from the murder scene, where he and his wife operate a burger stall, said the biggest challenge for the family was how to move on with their lives.