Witness claims she was beaten, given electric shocks while under protection programme

A witness has claimed she was beaten and subjected to electric shocks, and forced to take pills, while she was under a protection programme, Berita Harian reported.

Nurima Juli, 36, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence, said she was made to take blue and white pills which caused memory problems, claiming she could not even remember her own children.

Testifying before Judicial Commissioner Steve Ritikos, Nurima also claimed she had received threats from police, with the alleged incidents taking place while she was housed in an apartment.

During cross-examination by senior federal counsel Mardziatun Nisa Ahamadul Kaber, the witness said she could not recall whether she had ever lodged a police report or undergone a medical examination over the alleged injuries.

Mardziatun put it to the witness that there was no specific police report or hospital medical record confirming any physical injury or marks from electric shocks on her head or body.

Responding, the witness said: "I don't remember."

The counsel further suggested that the claims about "memory-loss medication", "electric shocks to the head" and "detention at a Putrajaya apartment" were stories invented by the witness herself. The witness disagreed with the suggestion.

During re-examination by plaintiffs' counsel Sharatha Masyaroh John Ridwan Lincon, the witness explained that the absence of a police report or medical record was because she had allegedly been told not to lodge a report against the police personnel involved.

All the plaintiffs in the case were among eight accused who were discharged and acquitted by the Tawau High Court on Jan 25, 2023, of charges of murdering e-hailing driver Nurman Bakaratu, 61.

The allegations raised in court remain untested and the proceedings are ongoing.