The 19th prosecution witness, Putra Azdaniel Jhalal Razhiel Jhalal, 19, a diploma student at the college, said he was not sure whose money the victim had stolen.
He initially went to the dormitory to look for coloured pencils for a landscaping assignment at around 10pm on March 21.
“When I entered (7 Resak), I saw Ijat (Nazmie) and the fifth accused talking in the middle of the room. The latter accused Ijat of stealing money. Then, Ijat went to his locker and brought out RM50, RM10, RM5 and three RM1 notes, handing them to the fifth accused.
“Ijat admitted he stole the money, saying, ‘Yes, I took it.’
“Then, the first, fourth and fifth accused started hitting the victim,” he said during his testimony at the murder trial of Nazmie before Justice Duncan Sikodol.
Thirteen students from the college, aged between 16 and 19, are jointly charged with the murder of the 17-year-old at dormitory rooms 7 Resak and 5 Belian at the Lahad Datu Vocational College, between 9pm on March 21 and 7.38am on March 22.
The charges are framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same code, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment for 30 to 40 years, and not more than 12 strokes of the cane, if found guilty.
During the examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Nur Nisla Abd Latif, Azdaniel said the three accused had hit the victim more than once, but he could not confirm which parts of the victim’s body were struck.
He said about an hour later, he went to room 5 Belian, still in search of coloured pencils, and witnessed the 12th accused punching the victim in the abdomen, while the second accused stomped on the victim’s head, who was lying on the floor at the time.
The witness also mentioned that he helped carry the victim to the Exco Belian bathroom to shower and waited outside.
“After five minutes, I helped Ijat into room 7 Belian as I didn’t know which room he was from. I felt sorry for him. He had no energy and could barely walk. I then laid him on the bed,” he said, adding that the victim thanked him for the gesture.
Besides Nisla, the prosecution is also being handled by deputy public prosecutors Ng Juhn Tao and Batrisyia Khusri.
Eight of the 13 teenagers are represented by lawyers Ram Singh, Kamarudin Chinki, and Chen Wen Jye; while five others are represented by lawyers Zairi Zainal Abidin, Abdul Ghani Zelika, Vivian Thien, Jhesseny P Kang and Kusni Ambotuwo.