Nazri Abdul Razak, a deputy superintendent from the Kedah police contingent headquarters, simply nodded after the charge was read out before magistrate S Punitha in the magistrates’ court here this morning.

No plea was recorded as the case falls under the High Court’s jurisdiction. He will be formally charged and a plea recorded when the case is transferred to the High Court.

Nazri, who is with the criminal investigation department, appeared calm during the short proceeding.

He is charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code with killing Zaharif at Jalan Taman Jati 1 near SMK Jati in Meru between 12.05pm and 12.40pm on Dec 15.

If convicted, he can be sentenced to death or jailed between 30 and 40 years and whipped a minimum of 12 times.

The court set Feb 7 for case mention while waiting for the chemist’s report.

The prosecution was led by deputy public prosecutor Azlina Rasdi while Nazri was represented by lawyer Jacky Loi.

Nazri was arrested on Friday, hours after Zaharif was killed.

It was previously reported that a car had rammed into his motorcycle after a 1km chase, causing him to fall off and be dragged for nearly 5m.

Nazri managed to dodge the media. He arrived at the courthouse through a separate entrance and left in a six-car police convoy.

Earlier, Zaharif’s brother, Zarul Fitri, 29, could be seen in tears while the charge against Nazri was being read out.

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