Wife of Cradle CEO slams investigation into his death
FMT Reporters | August 14, 2018
Samirah Muzaffar says the Fire and Rescue Department has made claims which are 'patently untrue'.
Nazrin Hassan. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: The wife of Cradle Fund Sdn Bhd CEO Nazrin Hassan, who died in a fire at his house in June, today spoke out against the authorities involved in the investigation into his death, in particular the Fire and Rescue Department.
Samirah Muzaffar.
Samirah Muzaffar said she and her family had been kept in the dark despite requests for updates from the department. She also slammed disparities between media reports on her husband’s death and official statements from the fire department and the police.
The following is her statement in full:
It has been a trying period of close to two months for me and the children. In respecting the ongoing investigations, I have refrained from issuing any statement or talking to the media but my family and I are deeply distressed by recent media reports on the tragic demise of my beloved husband, Nazrin Hassan, on June 14. These reports, it is pertinent to point out, contain official quotes and statements from the authorities involved in the investigation, namely the Fire and Rescue Department and the Malaysian police.
It is unfortunate that these reports are not consistent with the findings of the report on the postmortem examination on my deceased husband issued by the Department of Forensic Medicine, Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL), on Aug 2. The report which is in my possession states that my husband “sustained a blunt penetrating injury at the left parietal region. This wound was associated with a severe degree of head injury”.
It also states that “multiple smaller blunt penetrating injuries of various sizes were found on his face, neck, chest, left shoulder and back of left hand bearing the pattern of shrapnel injuries”. The postmortem report then concludes that the cause of death is “complication of blast and blunt penetrating injuries”. The autopsy conducted by a senior pathologist in HKL explicitly detailed the cause of the demise of my late husband.
The postmortem report makes no mention of “traces of petrol on his head” or on any other part of my late husband. I would like to also reiterate here that contrary to media reports, my late husband was not on any form of medication. The laboratory analysis in the postmortem 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 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 have lodged police reports pertaining to the investigations and missing items since June. I have been writing to the Fire and Rescue Department requesting updates but the family and I have been kept mostly in the dark. 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 fire 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 fire department in relation to the tragedy.
In its sparse communication with me, the fire department has in fact made claims which are patently untrue, namely that it had taken control of the premises, specifically the room where the death occurred, from June 14 to 19. After 5pm on June 14 itself, the family was informed that it could access the room as well as clean the said room. And yet, the fire department produced a letter on June 19 which was backdated to the June 14. Acts of this sort which transgress established procedures erode our confidence in the authorities.
As most would know, my late husband, Nazrin Hassan, led his life with integrity, honesty and professionalism, and I seek that the investigations in relation to his death also be conducted with the highest standards of ethics, transparency and accountability.
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