Student’s heart had stopped before CPR given, says witness in murder trial

Student’s heart had stopped before CPR given, says witness in murder trial

The High Court here heard today that Zaharif Affendi Zamrie’s heart stopped beating and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) had to be given to him.

Nor Shazree Shahrun Nizam, 31, an assistant medical officer at Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, said medical teams generally perform CPR to analyse the victim’s heart rhythm and check if the pulse is still there.

“When the heart stops, we will continue with CPR for about 15 minutes. If after 15 minutes there is still no heartbeat, we will stop doing CPR,” he said.

Nor Shazree, who is the eighth prosecution witness, said this when cross-examined by deputy public prosecutor Afzainizam Abdul Aziz on the fourth day of the trial of Nazri Abdul Razak, who was charged with the murder of student Zaharif, 17, on Dec 15 last year.

Nor Shazree told the court that he would have continued to perform CPR on Zaharif even if the victim had broken ribs.

He said rib fractures can be avoided if CPR is done correctly. He said this when lawyer M Athimulan, representing Nazri, suggested repeated pressure on the victim’s chest caused the rib fractures.

Nor Shazree said upon arriving at SMK Jati here at about 12.15pm on Dec 15, he found the boy on the shoulder of the road at an intersection near the school.

He found the boy had been given respiratory treatment by another person, believed to be his sister, and he then continued to provide emergency treatment, using CPR.

“I examined him and found that he had died. There were no signs of life – no pulse, pupil dilation or breathing. There was blood on his face and hands,” he said.

Nor Shazree pronounced the victim dead at 12.32pm and then left the location.

Nazri, 45, is accused of murdering Zaharif on Jalan Taman Jati 1, near SMK Jati, between 11.45am and 12.40pm on Dec 15, 2023.

He is charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years, with a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane upon conviction.

Afzainizam was assisted by Nasrul Hadi Abdul Ghani, V Suloshani and Low Qin Hui in the prosecution. Nazri was also represented by Mior Faridalathrash Wahid and Aiman Hakim Kamaruzzaman.

The trial before judge Bhupindar Singh Gurcharan Singh Preet continues on Monday.