We were kept in the dark, says wife of former Cradle Fund CEO

KUALA LUMPUR: The widow of former Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Nazrin Hassan, who was killed in a home fire in June, has taken the Fire and Rescue Department to task over investigations into the incident.

Samirah Muzaffar said the family had been kept in the dark since the incident.

She said this was despite the family having written to the department requesting for information.

Samirah said the family had lodged a report over the investigation process and regarding the theft of several items.

“I have been told by the Fire and Rescue Department that the report by the department cannot be given to me because Nazrin’s death is a high profile case.

“I have again written to the department and appealed for a copy of the report.

“I am not aware of any provision in the law that denies the family of the victim, especially the next of kin, access to documents because of the status of the case.

“However, there have been no less than four statements made to the media by the department in relation to the tragedy. In its sparse communication with me, the department has, in fact, made claims which are patently untrue, namely that (we) had taken control of the premises, specifically the room where the death occurred, from June 14 to 19.

“After 5pm on June 14, the family was informed that (we) could access the room as well as clean the said room. And yet, the department produced a letter on June 19 which was backdated to June 14. Acts of this sort which transgress established procedures erode our confidence in the authorities.”

Samirah also questioned the differences in media reports, quoting official statements from the department and the post mortem examination report from Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL) released on Aug 2, a copy of which she has in her possession.

“The report stated that my husband sustained a blunt penetrating injury at the left parietal region. This wound was associated with severe degrees of head injury. It also states that multiple smaller blunt penetrating injuries of various sizes were found on his face, neck, chest, left shoulder, back of left hand, bearing the pattern of shrapnel injuries.

“The post-mortem report then concludes that the cause of death was ‘complication of blast and blunt penetrating injuries’.

“I would like to reiterate that contrary to media reports, my late husband was not on any form of medication. The laboratory analysis in the post-mortem report further confirms that no common drugs, volatile substances and/or alcohol were found in my late husband.

“The family and I have been more than cooperative with the authorities as we would like to see a closure of the entire tragic episode. Besides, we would like some information on certain missing items and personal belongings of my late husband as a result of the incident.

“I seek that the investigations in relation to his death be conducted with the highest standards of ethics, transparency and accountability.”