Angry wife tells of last phone call from Noorhisham

The wife of the bank officer says she was upset with her husband when he left her and their children to help Sosilawati.

SHAH ALAM: The wife of bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, one of the four victims in the Banting murder case who included cosmetics millionairess Sosilawati Lawiya, told the High Court here today that she was angry with her husband when he left her and their children for three days to help someone else.

Suzana Radin Pangat, 39, said she expressed her anger through a short messaging service (SMS), which read “Kenapa sanggup nak bantu orang tapi tinggalkan saya dan anak-anak selama tiga hari” (Why are you willing to help others, but leave me and the children for three days), and sent to Noorhisham’s handphone.

“Noorhisham contacted me about 8pm on Aug 30, 2010. He said he wanted to help Sosilawati. He said Kamal (Kamaruddin Shamsuddin), Sosilawati’s driver, threatened Sosilawati because there was a photograph to be circulated, so he and Kamil (lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim) had to help Sosilawati.

“He told me to understand the situation and apologised and that he would tell me what happened when he comes back in three days.

“After that, I asked him where he was and where would he break his fast, but he did not respond,” she added.

At this juncture, Suzana, who is the eighth prosecution witness, broke down and had to be given time to calm down.

Suzana is testifying on the second day trial of a former lawyer, N Pathmanabhan and three plantation workers – T Thilaiyagan, R Matan and R Khatavarayan – who are charged with murdering Sosilawati, 47, Noorhisham, 38, Ahmad Kamil, 32, and Kamaruddin, 44, at Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjung Layang, Tanjung Sepat, Banting, between 8.30pm and 9.40pm on Aug 30 last year.

Pathmanabhan, 42, Thilaiyagan, 20, Matan, 21, and Khatavarayan, 31, are charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Asked by deputy public prosecutor Ishak Mohd Yusoff the reason she did not contact Noorhisham, but only sent the SMS, Suzana, a personal assistant at CIMB, said she was angry.

When Ishak asked whether Noorhisham contacted her again after that, she said he did, but she did not answer the call.

Questioned whether she tried to contact her husband after sending the SMS, Suzana said she did.
“I tried to contact him during ‘sahur’ (pre-fasting meal) at about 3am on Aug 31, 2010, but I was not able to get him,” she said.

Sombre atmosphere

Earlier, Suzana told the court that the last time she saw her husband was when he sent her to her office about 8am on Aug 30, 2010. The couple married in 1995 and had three children.

“He told me that in the afternoon he would go to Banting with Ahmad Kamil for some matters regarding Sosilawati’s dealings. At about 4pm the same day, my husband contacted me at the office to say that he was going with Ahmad Kamil to Banting and they went in Ahmad Kamil’s car,” she said when Ishak asked whether Noorhisham had told her about what he was going to do on that day.

She said that when Noorhisham sent her to office on that day, he was wearing the green CIMB Islamic corporate shirt and a “Longiness” watch which he received for his excellent service from his employer in 2008.

Meanwhile, Sosilawati’s daughter, Erni Erinawati Sofia Buhari, who is the 11th prosecution witness, said Kamaruddin, whom she called “Uncle Kamal” had been her mother’s personal assistant and driver for about three years.

She described Kamaruddin as a good man, one who liked to make jokes and a caring person.

Erni Erinawati, 22, who is now in charge of her mother’s company, Nouvelles Beauty Centre Sdn Bhd, in Cyberjaya, said she lodged a police report twice on her mother’s disappearance, on Aug 31, 2010 and on Sept 2, 2010 as instructed by her older sister, Erni Dekritawati Yuliana.

Questioned by Ishak the reason Erni Dekritawati instructed her to make the police reports, Erni Erinawati said her sister had to take care of their younger siblings at home.

Earlier, the atmosphere in the court room turned sombre when Erni Erinawati broke down after being showed a picture of her mother for identification purpose.

Another witness, teacher Khairul Izwan Ismail, 30, who is Kamaruddin’s nephew, said he last spoke to his uncle at about 5pm on the date of the incident when he (Kamaruddin) contacted him while he (Khairul Izwan) was on his way to Kuala Lumpur.

“During the conversation, I promised to sleep at his house on the night of Aug 30, 2010 and he told me to give him a call when I arrived in KL. When I’m in KL, I’ll sleep at his house because I have no other relative in KL.

“During the conversation, we also joked and I also asked him where he was and he said he was in Banting. Then he hang up,” said Khairul Izwan, a teacher in Kuantan, Pahang.

Meanwhile, the 10th prosecution witness, Zaidah Shamsuddin, 52, a housewife, said he lodged a police report on Kamaruddin’s disappearance on Sept 6, 2010.

She said she lodged the report after an unknown women contacted her on Sept 2, 2010 and informed her that her brother was missing.

The hearing before judge Akhtar Tahir continues tomorrow.

-Bernama