KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court here today was told that police had detained a man behaving suspiciously next to a car parked near a condominium, before discovering a black bag in the vehicle containing two imitation pistols and drugs wrapped in black plastic.
Inspector Wan Muhammad Wan Ali, 37, from the Intelligence Division of the Kuala Lumpur Police Contingent Headquarters (IPKKL), said a black bag was found under the front passenger seat during a roadside inspection, while a subsequent check at the IPKKL led to the discovery of a compressed lump suspected to be cannabis under the rear passenger seat.
“On Sept 6, 2024, at about 9.25 am, my team and I detained a Malay man acting suspiciously by the driver’s door of a dark blue Nissan Teana, which was parked on the roadside near the Senada Kiara Condominium.
“I introduced myself as a senior police officer by showing my police authority card and asked the man for his identification document. The details given confirmed that he was Muhammed Yusoff Rawther,” said the first prosecution witness at the trial of Muhammed Yusoff, who is charged with drug trafficking and possession of two imitation pistols.
Wan Muhammad also said that at 5 am on Sept 6, the police received a phone call from a man who alerted them to weapons in a car and provided its location.
“The caller did not reveal his identity but spoke in Bahasa Malaysia. His ethnicity remains uncertain,” he said, adding that he and his team went to the location, searched for the vehicle, and located it parked by the roadside.
When Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Sabri Othman asked how Muhammed Yusoff reacted when the guns were found in the vehicle, the witness replied, “As far as I can remember, he did not show any reaction”
Wan Muhammad also said that Muhammed Yusoff declined to sign a copy of the disclosure form as proof of the seizure.
Meanwhile, he disagreed with the suggestion made by Muhammed Yusoff’s lawyer, Muhammad Rafique Rashid Ali, that the accused refused to sign the form because he had been framed.
The witness also dismissed the suggestion that the call he received at 5 am was part of an attempt to frame the accused on the orders of “higher-ranking individuals”.
According to Wan Muhammad, over the course of his three years as an inspector with the D9 Intelligence Unit, he took every report seriously, as each one required thorough planning, logistics, and manpower to carry out a raid.
Muhammed Yusoff, who is also a former research assistant to a politician, has been charged with trafficking 305g of cannabis found in the vehicle he was in, in front of the IPKKL surau at 10.15 am on Sept 6, 2024.
The charge, framed under Section 39B(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, provides life imprisonment and also a whipping of not less than 12 lashes upon conviction.
Muhammed Yusoff was also charged with possessing two fake pistols on the roadside near a condominium on Jalan Bukit Kiara, at 9.25 am on Sept 6, 2024.
The charge, under Section 36(1) of the Arms Act 1960, carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison, a fine of up to RM5,000, or both, upon conviction.
The trial before Judge Datuk Muhammad Jamil Hussin continues tomorrow.
