When The Dead Tell Their Stories
By Rol Izam & Ignatius Stephen

Bandar Seri Begawan - The dead might not speak or scream but they can still tell their stories.

Thus spoke Deputy Public Prosecutor Pengiran Jasmine Bahrain, making the final Prosecution Submission in a triple murder case in which a car salesman neighbour Richard Chia Kok Hiong has been charged.

She told Chief Justice Dato Mohamed Saied and Mr Justice Dato Steven Chong: The Prosecution humbly submits that it was Richard who caused the death of the three victims based on, firstly, the evidence of the Defendant's DNA underneath the fingernails of the two, adult victims which puts the Defendant on the scene of the murders.

Secondly, the eyewitness Faridah binte Yahya who saw Richard driving the green Nissan Sunny from the direction of the victim's house and coming out of his car at around 10.34pm on December 15, 2004 with blood stained trousers; and lastly, the evidence of the DNA belonging to victim Seniwati found in the green Nissan Sunny registration number BN8908.

She therefore submitted that due to the evidence herein before discussed, the prosecution has proven that all the elements of the offence against Richard beyond a reasonable doubt and should convict him.

Richard accused of triple murder of a family during Christmas two years ago at Serusop near the capital was arrested soon after the tragedy and is held ever since.

The murder victims were Maul bin Jambu, 44, his 37year-old school teacher wife and their adopted daughter Neena Asmira, aged two, who was smothered with a pillow, while her parents were beaten to death.

Chief Justice Dato Mohammad Saied and Justice Dato - Steven Chong are hearing the case.

Prosecution is led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Haji Yusree and DPP Pengiran Nina Jasmine. Awang Yusof Halim and Siva Sankaran are defending.

DPP Jasmine further submitted the circumstantial evidence, being the DNA evidence that Seniwati's DNA was found as blood in Richard's car, the DNA of Richard found underneath both the adult victims' fingernails and the evidence from eyewitness Faridah, is of such a nature that the court could properly come to the inescapable conclusion that the Prosecution has proved a case against Richard beyond reasonable doubt.

The Prosecution have not put forward any possible motive for Richard committing these offences. It is submitted that this is no bar to a finding of guilt.

The Prosecution does not have to establish any motive. Many crimes are committed for no apparent reason. The motive for an offence may be known only to the accused himself.

If, however, the Prosecution is able to establish a motive this is often of assistance in coming to the conclusion as to the strength of the circumstantial evidence against the accused.

She quoted the forensic expert Mr Andrew David Parry's statement concluding:

1. Mr Maul bin Jambu had been initially assaulted while he was near the internal garage door. He then moved back along the gap between the garage wall and the offside of the vehicle where he was subjected to a beating while lowdown in front of the table opposite the driver's door. He was then moved further along the garage while low-down towards the entrance where he had bled for some time and then either moved or dragged back to the position where he was found.

2. The assault upon Seniwati binte Untong was confined to the area between the bed that was on its side, up against the wall and the area where she was found lying.

The presence of the spattered blood on the wall at the head of the bed and the heavy areas of contact bloodstaining along the base of the bed on its side suggest that she may -have been initially assaulted towards the area of the head of the bed and had then moved along towards the foot of the bed.

3.1 would expect the assailant(s) to have become bloodstained as a consequence of these assaults and, in particular, lower garments such as trousers to have become bloodstained."

She submitted that this was consistent with Faridah's testimony that she saw someone emerge from the green Nissan Sunny on December 15, 2004 with what looked like blood stains on his trousers.

"That someone, the Prosecution humbly submits, was the Defendant. It is also submitted that the presence of Seniwati's blood on two locations inside the Nissan Sunny was transferred by the defendant as his person and his clothes were bloodstained as a consequence of the assault on Seniwati.

As for Seniwati, Mr Andrew Parry explained that that "the findings indicate that she may have had fingertip contact with Maual or something/someone heavily stained with his biological material.

Given that they lived together then there clearly may be an innocent explanation as to why DNA attributable to her husband was present.

Alternatively, the presence of DNA relating to her husband on her fingernails could be that she had had fingertip contact with an assailant who was stained with her husband's blood and she had gripped firmly/scratched areas of the assailant that were heavily stained with her husband's blood. The findings are what could be expected if Richard had been involved in a struggle with Maul bin Jambu and then his wife Seniwati binte Untong".

After the discovery of the bodies was made public, Faridah came forward to the Royal Brunei Police Force.

During her testimony, she said that on December 15, 2004 at around 10.34pm, she heard the sound of a car that was moving fast and she saw a green Nissan Sunny.

She testified to the Examination-in-chief that she saw that car almost every single day. She showed the sketch map of the area where she lived in and that the car had come from the direction of Jalan Perumahan Guru Maktab Sains, the area where the victims' house was situated. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Related Stories: Cook Now Says She Is Not Sure It Was Richard | Three Different Statement At Three Different Times | Richard’s Murder Trial Takes A Dramatic Turn | Cook Testifies Seeing Richard With A Stick, Stained Trousers | Witness Recalls Hearing About Quarrel | Another Mystery Car Pops Up In Richard’s Trial | Witness Recalls Seeing Vehicle Leaving In Hurry | Mystery Vehicle In Triple Murder Case | Mysterious Night Visits And Screams | Trial In Triple Murder Case Begins | Witness Not Sure About 'Red' Stain On Trousers | DNA, Scientific Evidence Examined | Triple Murder Suspect To Speak Out For First Time | I Was In Restaurant At The Time Of Murder | Catch Real Culprit(S), I Had No Reason To Kill Them: Richard | Suspect Had Phone, SMS Contact With Victims | Richard Relying On Alibis To Deny Charges | Accused Shook Hands With Victims The Day They Died | Aussie Expert Questions Handling Of Crime Scene | Defence To Bring In Two More Expert Witnesses | Accused Questions Police Motives In Court | Mystery Of Missing Phone | Court Told Killer's Parting Gesture | Mysterious Footprints At Crime Scene | Court Looks For Key Witness In Murder Case | Border Posts Alerted To Stop Key Witness | Why Was The Victim Tortured? | Witness In Triple Murder Trial To Return Home | Mystery Of Car Being Moved | Subpoena On Key Witness Teo | Time Will Tell Suspect's Fate | Teo Remembers What He Didn't Before | Time Of Deaths Remains In Dispute

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