Public Prosecutor v Mohammed Ali bin Johari

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Kan Ting Chiu J
• Judgment Date: 31 January 2008
• Neutral Citation: [2008] SGHC 16
• Docket Number: Criminal Case No 9 of 2007
• Date: 31 January 2008
• Year: 2008
• Published date: 01 February 2008
• Plaintiff Counsel: Christopher Ong, Tan Wee Soon, Stanley Kok Pin Chin and Vinesh Winodan (Attorney-General’s Chambers)
• Citation: [2008] SGHC 16
• Defendant Counsel: R S Bajwa and Sarindar Singh (Bajwa & Co)
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Subject Matter: Culpable homicide,Whether deceased person's death caused by immersions,Whether accused intending to immerse deceased in water and causing injury,Genetic screening,Section 300(c) Penal Code (Cap 224, 1985 Rev Ed),Offences,Elements of s 300(c),Criminal Law,Cause of death

31 January 2008

Kan Ting Chiu J:

1 The events leading to this case attracted considerable public attention. A little girl, who had been reported missing and was the subject of a well-publicised search, was eventually found naked and dead in a recessed chamber under a flyover.

2 The deceased was Nur Asyura Binte Mohamed Fauzi, known as Nonoi to her family, and I shall also refer to her as Nonoi. She was 34 months old.

3 Nonoi’s mother is Mastura Binte Kamsir (“Mastura”). Mastura, a divorcee, was remarried to the accused Mohammed Ali bin Johari. Mastura has another child, a son named Daniel (who is also known as Didi), with the accused. The four of them, i.e. the accused, Mastura, Nonoi and Daniel formed a family unit with their home at Pipit Road (“the Pipit Road flat”).

4 The accused maintained strong links with his parents, as well as his unmarried siblings who resided at the family home at Circuit Road (“the Circuit Road flat”).

5 As Mastura worked as a masseuse and the accused was a free-lance despatch rider, they would bring the two children to the Circuit Road flat and bring them back to their Pipit Road flat after work.

6 They followed the routine on 1 March 2006. They walked with the children to the Circuit Road flat at around noon. They left the children at the flat and went on the accused’s motorcycle which was parked at the flat. They went window-shopping for furniture and had lunch, after which the accused sent Mastura to her workplace in Upper Serangoon at about 2.00 pm. The accused then returned to the Circuit Road flat at about 2.15 pm.

7 From that time on, the regularity in their lives was broken. An alarm was raised that Nonoi was missing from the Circuit Road flat. The police were alerted and the accused and Mastura, as well as the accused’s siblings went searching for her in vain over the following days.

8 On 4 March 2006, the accused confessed to Mastura and her mother Rozanah binte Salleh (“Rozanah”) that Nonoi was dead. The police were informed, and her body was subsequently recovered from a drain within a chamber under the Aljunied flyover along the Pan-Island Expressway.

The initial admission

9 The accused made the revelations for the first time to Mastura and her mother Rozanah on 4 March 2006 at about 9.00 am in the Pipit Road flat.

10 Mastura’s evidence was:

On 4 March 2006, at about 9.00 a.m., at the Pipit Road flat, Ali approached my mother and myself in the living room. He told us that he had lied to us. After some questioning from me and my mother, he admitted that he had caused Nonoi’s death, but that it had not been done on purpose. My mother and I were shocked, and both started to cry.[note: 1]

11 Rozanah’s evidence was:

10.On 4 March 2006, at about 7.30 a.m., I was at the Pipit Road flat with Mastura and Ali [the accused]. Ali had just awakened from his sleep. He came to Mastura and me and suddenly asked us for forgiveness. He cried. He told us that he had done something, but he did not know why he had done it and had not intended to do it. I sensed that he was responsible for Nonoi’s disappearance and also suspected that he might have raped her or done something else bad to her, and told him to tell us what he had done to her. I was not really sure whether she might still be alive.

11.At this point, myself and Mastura were shocked, angry and crying. We continued to ask Ali to tell us what he had done. He remained quiet for some time, then he finally admitted he had drowned Nonoi. We asked him why he had drowned her. We also asked him where he had hidden her body, but he refused to tell us. He said he would tell the investigating officer.[note: 2]

12 Their evidence was not disputed by the accused. He had also referred to this event in a statement to the police where he recounted that:[note: 3]

I told them in Malay, “Nonoi, Dah Tak Ada”, meaning “Nonoi, no more”. They cried and asked me repeatedly what I had done. I replied to them in Malay, “Saya Tak Ada Niat Jadi Kan Dia Be Gi Tu. Dia Lemas”, meaning “I had no intention to do that to her. She drowned”.

The statements to the police

13 The accused went to the police on the same day and told them what had happened. Statements were recorded from him in the course of the police investigations touching on Nonoi’s death, and the statements were admitted in evidence in the trial without objections and without any suggestion put to the recording officers and the interpreters that they had misunderstood the accused, or had failed to record properly and completely what he told them.

14 On 4 March 2006, he made the first statement, which was recorded by Staff Sergeant Abdul Razak Said of the Bedok Police Division. In this statement[note: 4] the accused narrated:

On 1/3/06 @ 2.30 pm to 3 pm I was at home at Pipit Rd with my step daughter whom I call ‘Kakak’ (recorder’s note: Nur Asyura Bte Mohamed Fauzi). My step daughter was crying even when I told her to stop.

I then slapped her over her body telling her to stop crying. ‘Kakak’ still continue crying. I then brought her to the toilet and tip her over and dipped her head into the red colour plastic pail. I dipped her into the water in the pail for a few times. The phone then rang and I went to answer it, leaving ‘Kakak’ dip in the pail of water.

When I return, I found that ‘Kakak’ was motionless and not breathing. I then carry her out and did cpr [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] on her. She did not response. I then carry her to Circuit Rd.

When I arrived at Circuit Rd, I placed her on the bed. The other family members were busy and did not pay attention to me. I then left home.

I later return back when everyone had left home. Only my father who was about to pray was at home. When my father started praying, I went into the house and pick up ‘Kakak’. I then went to the nearby flyover & placed ‘Kakak’ body in the drain. I then went back home to Circuit.

15 On the same day, after Nonoi’s body was recovered, Station Inspector Noorma’at Sawab of the Criminal Investigation Department (“CID”) recorded another statement from the accused at the Geylang Serai Neighbourhood Police Post. In this second statement[note: 5], the accused revealed that:

I carried her whole body head first into a pail of water. The pail is a plastic pail. I did this because I wanted to prevent her from crying. She kept on crying and struggling. Although she was crying and struggling, I kept on dipping the body for a while. I pulled her out and she kept on crying. She was wet. I did this two or three times. The last time I pushed her into the pail of water, my handphone rang. I left her inside the pail of water to answer the call. I could not recall who called me. After I answered the call, I remembered about her and went back to her in the toilet. When I saw her, she was not moving and immediately I pulled her out of the pail. Her body was soft. I pressed her abdomen and chest and blow into her mouth and nose. Only a little water came out from her mouth and nose. I brought her to the hall and I placed her on the floor. I pressed her abdomen and chest again. I also blow air into her mouth and nose. I saw that her eyes began to close and close. I carried her up but her body became softer and softer. I was afraid. I pressed her abdomen and chest again and also blow into her mouth and nose. After doing this, her eyes was almost shut and completely did not move anymore. I was afraid. I was confused and do not know what to do. I walked to and fro and thinking what to do next. I had removed her clothing before I dipped her into the paid of water. She was only wearing her pampers. After I dipped her into the pail of water for the first time, her pampers was soaked with water and I removed it. I shooked her to wake her up and called her name but she did not wake up. I picked her up and dried her body with a towel. I then dressed her up with the same clothing that I had taken off before the dipping. I carried her and took her slipper and left the flat at Pipit Road.

16 The accused made a third statement during the early hours of 5 March 2006 to Senior Station Inspector Mazlan Shariff of the CID in the offices of the CID. In this statement[note: 6], the accused said:

On 1.3.06, which was my wife’s pay day, as usual, my wife and I sent Didi and Nonoi to my mother’s flat at Circuit Road. Thereafter, we went to look for household items to buy and after that I sent her to work on my motorcycle. I then returned to my flat. That day I did not work. On that same afternoon, I went to my mother’s flat to visit my children who were being looked after by my mother and sisters. My father and my children were at the flat. I sat at the flat for awhile and decided to bring Nonoi out for a walk. However, Nonoi started to cry. I held her hand and we left the flat.

I walked her around the flat and proceeded to the shops at Circuit Road. While along this walk, Nonoi would on and off cry. I kept telling her ‘Noi, diam! diam!’ but she did not stop. At the provision shop, I offered her to buy something but she refused and as such I walked her away. Actually when she started to keep on crying and refused to listen to me in asking her to keep quiet, I began to get angry. I would raise my voice when directing her to be quiet.

After leaving the shop, we walked to Circuit Rd. I brought Noi to the tenth floor of the said block to look for my friend but his flat door was closed and I presumed he was not in. We went down and walked around a few blocks there. Nonoi was still on and off crying. Each time she cried, I would ask her to be quiet but she did not. Normally on other days, she would listen to me but I do not know why she was so stubborn on that day. I decided to go back to my flat to bath and rest for a while. Once, Noi and I entered my flat, she just sat on the mattress and was keeping quiet. I asked why she was quiet and also asked her why not playing around. I switched on the TV and radio. Noi began to cry. That time I had took...