Mohd Zahid Mahmood, 48, said it was the deputy warden at the centre who informed him about the fire.
“He (deputy warden) said the centre was on fire. His voice was panicky. I asked whether the fire was small or serious, how were the students, he cried,” said the principal during examination-in-chief by Kuala Lumpur prosecution director Othman Abdullah.
Zahid, who is the 17th witness, said he was at his house, which was about 300 metres from the tahfiz centre, when the fire broke out, and he immediately drove to the site.
On arrival, he said the centre was engulfed in flames and firemen were attempting to put out the fire.
Earlier, Zahid, who is also the founder of the tahfiz centre, said he set up the centre in 2002 to help the poor and its operations were funded by public donations.
He said he and his friends went to Terengganu, Kelantan and Kedah where they found 20 people from underprivileged families and brought them to study at the centre, which was initially located in Taman Sri Watan.
Six months later, the centre was relocated to its permanent site at Lot 75, Jalan Keramat Hujung, not far from the location of the fire.
Zahid was testifying on the sixth day of the trial of two teenagers, then aged 16, who were jointly charged with murdering and causing the death of 23 people at the tahfiz centre at Jalan Keramat Hujung, Kampung Datuk Keramat, here, between 4.15am and 6.45am on Sept 14, 2017.
They each face 23 counts of murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same law, and faced the mandatory death sentence, upon conviction.
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 same law also empowers the court to order the parents or guardians of the child offender to pay a fine or compensation.
In the 5.15am incident 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.
The hearing before Judge Azman Abdullah continues on July 10.