By JAMES LEONG
TAWAU: A police inspector testified in the High Court here that he was offered witness protection and a coveted posting in exchange for altering his statement to implicate the former intelligence chief of the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) in the murder of an e-hailing driver three years ago.
Inspector Usman Lanaga, 46, who now heads the narcotics criminal investigation division at the Keningau District Police Headquarters, said he refused the proposal, insisting that his original testimony was truthful.
The allegation emerged during cross-examination by Senior Federal Counsel Zetty Zurina Kamarudin, who challenged it as baseless and noted that Usman had never lodged a police report or formal complaint over the matter. Usman responded that he did not report the incident because he was traumatised, under severe stress, and feared for his safety.
Usman was testifying as the third plaintiff’s witness in a RM190 million civil lawsuit filed by former ESSCOM senior officers and intelligence personnel against the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and 11 other defendants, before Judicial Commissioner Steve Ritikos.
Under examination-in-chief by plaintiff’s counsel Sharatha Masyaroh John Ridwan Lincon, Usman said he was serving as ESSCOM’s Operations Intelligence Officer 2 at the time. He was later transferred to Keningau after his second remand.
He recounted that on 25 January 2023, he and other ESSCOM staff were ordered to report early to the office, shortly before Datuk Mat Zaki Md Zain was arrested. A team of armed tactical police officers then raided the premises and detained him and his colleagues.
After being taken to the Lahad Datu District Police Headquarters and later to Tawau, he was interrogated by officers who, he alleged, repeatedly pressed him to link Mat Zaki to the killing of 61-year-old Nurman Bakaratu.
Usman told the court he had no knowledge of the murder and informed investigators that he was on leave in Kuala Lumpur from 5 to 16 January 2023 – a period covering the alleged date of the killing on 13 January.
Investigators later reviewed closed-circuit television footage from his hotel, which confirmed his presence in the capital during that time.
The witness further claimed that during his second remand at the Semporna District Police Headquarters, he was taken to Tawau to meet former Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Abdul Jalil Hassan. Usman alleged that Abdul Jalil told him he was acting on the then-Inspector General of Police’s mandate and urged him to change his statement.
He said he was promised witness protection and a posting of his choice in return, but was also threatened that if he held his ground, prosecution would tarnish his family’s reputation.
Despite the pressure, Usman said he refused to fabricate his testimony, as he had no knowledge of the murder and would not implicate anyone without evidence.
During cross-examination, Zetty further suggested that his claims – including the alleged offer, threats, and the purported phrase “whether strong or not, charge first” – were hearsay, unsubstantiated, and an afterthought.
The trial will resume on a later date.
Usman (left), told the court he had no knowledge of the murder and informed investigators that he was on leave in Kuala Lumpur from 5 to 16 January 2023.
