More than 50 witnesses to be called over the death of 23 people in tahfiz fire

KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution in the trial of two teenage boys charged with the murder of 23 occupants of Pusat Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah which has been fixed on May 30 at the High Court here, is expected to call more than 50 witnesses.
Deputy public prosecutor Nurakmal Farhan Aziz told this to the court when the case came up for mention before judge Datuk Azman Abdullah today.
He also informed the court that the documents on the case had been submitted to the defence.
Both the accused are represented by lawyer Joanne Chua Tsu Fae , while lawyer Boestaman Ahmad and Roswadya Roslan held a watching brief for the religious centre and families of the victims.
The two boys, who were then 16 years-old, were jointly charged with the murder and causing the death of the 23 people at the Pusat Tahfiz Darul Ittifaqiyah in Jalan Keramat Hujung, Kampung Datuk Keramat, here, between 4.15am and 6.45am on Sept 14 last year.
They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same law, and faced the mandatory death sentence if found guilty.
However Section 97(1) of the Child Act 2001 states that a death sentence shall not be pronounced or recorded against a person convicted of an offence if the child is under the age of 18, and in lieu of the death sentence, as provided under Section 97 (2) of the same law, the court shall order the person to be detained at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Section 94 of the law also empowers the court to order the parents or guardians of the child offender to pay fine or compensation.
In the incident at 5.15 am on Sept 14, 21 students and two teachers died when they were trapped on the third floor of the religious residential school hostel which was on fire. — Bernama