SHAH ALAM: The High Court yesterday denied Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar’s request for access to the witness statement made by DSP Musa Safri.

Justice Datuk Zaki Md Yasin said that when Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) statements were excluded from being part of the documents to be delivered before the commencement of the trial, the same applies to all stages of trial including one of the defences.

“The accused whose defence being called is entitled to interview and record a statement. DSP Musa is one of those witnesses. But the second accused yesterday decided that he would want to see DSP Musa’s Section 112 statement before deciding to exercise such entitlement.

“At the outset of this trial, a similar application for all Section 112 statements of witnesses for the prosecution be furnished to the second accused in advance of the trial had been rejected grounded upon reason that I am bound by the Federal Court ruling in Husdi’s case that Section 112 statement is privileged.

“It follows therefore, if that application had been granted, the present application would not have arisen for by now the accused would have been in the possession of all the witnesses statement including one of DSP Musa,” he said.

Sirul had asked the court to order the prosecution to supply him a copy of Musa’s statement made during police investigations.

The judge has set Feb 4 for continuation of the hearing. — Bernama