2007 03: Expert: Abuser didn't mean to kill

NST online. Local News. 08/03/07

SHAH ALAM: The injuries sustained by toddler Syakir Abdul Aziz showed that his abuser had no intention of killing him.

The High Court yesterday heard that the injuries found on the three-year-old boy’s body were consistent with efforts by the abuser to get the boy to obey commands.

Associate Professor Dr Shahrom Abd Wahid, a forensics expert from Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM), said the pattern of these injuries did not show any intention that the abuser wanted Syakir to die.

Dr Shahrom pointed to the injuries on the victim’s left thigh as an example to drive home his findings.

"The injuries on the victim’s left thigh indicated that he was hit by an object like a cane.

"If the abuser wanted to kill the victim, he or she would have strangled or stabbed the boy." He said the boy was also stamped on his abdomen, causing his intestines to rupture.

"The pattern of this injury shows that the abuser wanted to only hurt the boy." Dr Shahrom, who conducted the post-mortem on Syakir on April 8, 2004, found 29 abrasions and old scars on the toddler’s body.

He was testifying at the trial of Salina Abdul Shukor, 29, who is charged with the murder of Syakir, her youngest child.

The housewife allegedly murdered Syakir between 5.30pm on April 4 and 5pm on April 7, 2004, at their squatter home in Kampung Pinggir, Lembah Jaya Selatan in Ampang Jaya.

He also told the court that the victim died of septicaemia after liquid from the ruptured intestines leaked and mixed with the boy’s faeces.

Dr Shahrom also said death came between three and five days after the intestines ruptured.
The victim, he added, must have suffered excruciating pain.

Deputy public prosecutor Salim Soib prosecuted while Iszam Kamal Ismail and Hazlan Abd Hamid represented the accused.

Trial before judge Datuk Zaharah Ibrahim continues on April 5.

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Baby-sitter: I never let boy out of my sight
NST online. Local News. 06/04/07

SHAH ALAM: It was clear from her tearful testimony at the High Court yesterday that she had grown to love a 3-year-old boy who was under her care for a mere two weeks.

Mahani Awang, 44, who used to baby-sit Syakir Abdul Aziz three to four years ago, could not contain her tears when she spoke of the boy who was murdered in 2004.

Testifying at the trial of Syakir’s mother Salina Abdul Shukor charged with his murder, Mahani said she loved the boy and never let him out of her sight when Salina asked her to take care of him.

"Salina used to bring Syakir to my house and she would relate her problems to me about the children, how she had no money to buy them milk and about her husband.

"So Salina asked me to look after her son so that she could get a job," she said when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Salim Soib.

When asked why she agreed to look after him, the witness said she pitied the boy after Salina told her that he had not eaten. She said Syakir lived with her for two weeks but could not remember the date when Syakir came to stay with her.

"Two weeks later, Salina said she wanted her son back and I gave the boy back to her.

"I never saw him after that because I moved to Pokok Sena, Alor Star, where I am residing now," Mahani added.

According to a post-mortem report, Syakir suffered multiple injuries and death was caused by intoxication after his small intestines ruptured and the contents spilled out.

Salina, a housewife, allegedly murdered him between 5.30pm on April 4 and 5pm on April 7, 2004, at their squatter home in Kampung Pinggir, Lembah Jaya Selatan in Ampang Jaya.

Mahani said Salina and her husband Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman, a taxi driver, lived about one kilometre from her house in Lembah Jaya Selatan. They had three children, including Syakir, who was the second child. However, she said Salina only gave Syakir for her to look after and not the other two children.

Abdul Aziz also had a teenage son from his previous marriage called Rosnizam. "During his stay with me, Syakir was a healthy boy. However, I noticed he had old scars.

"When questioned by Salina’s counsel, Hazlan Abd Hamid, Mahani agreed that the scars could be from scabies. She agreed that she had never seen Salina hit her son.

Hazlan was assisted by counsel Iszam Kamal Ismail. Judge Datuk Zaharah Ibrahim fixed June 13 for submissions.