Thursday, July 7, 2011

Sarbaini Inquest: CCTV recordings tampered with, says witness

The CCTV recordings at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) building around the time of Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed's death had been tampered with, the Coroner's court was told.

Audio-video analyst ASP Fauziah Che Mat, from the police forensics lab in Cheras, told the court that she believed the “CCTV recordings had been tampered with by a skilled person”.

In her analysis of three hard drives taken from the MACC building, two containing recordings of events inside the building had two interruptions, one of which was a 22-hour gap.

Recordings from DVR1 skipped from 2.47pm on April 5, 2011 to 1.24pm the next day, while recordings from DVR2 skipped from 2.37pm on April 5 to 1.36pm the following day.

Ahmad Sarbaini, 56, who was attached to the Port Klang Customs office, was found dead in the badminton court on the first floor of the MACC building on April 6.

Questioned by Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Abazafree Mohd Abbas, ASP Fauziah explained that the recordings continued after Ahmad Sarbaini's death occurred.

She added that she believed the “interruptions” were made at the MACC building itself and that the device's recording system log showed it had been manually switched off and switched on later.

Another witness, Kuala Lumpur MACC director Mohamad Yusoff Akope, when questioned by lawyer Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, told the court he was informed that the discrepancies in the CCTV recordings had been “human error”.

“One of the security guards (Ismail Sedek) wanted to rewind it but didn't realise he had turned it off. Another security guard (Romizi) turned it on again,” he said, adding that the CCTV control room on the ground floor of the building was locked and only authorised personnel had access to it.

MACC security guard Ismail Sedek, however, in his testimony said: “The (CCTV) room is never locked, anyone can enter.”

He added that he had to click on “Escape” on April 5 to view a playback of the CCTV recordings but noticed that the “pictures weren't moving”. Ismail said he later informed his colleague on night duty of the problem.

The inquest before Coroner Aizatul Akmal Maharani continues today.

Source : The Star

Related news : Ahmad Sarbaini admitted receiving monthly bribes, MACC officer tells court

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