The man now on trial in the High Court for the rape and grisly murder of Canny Ong confessed that he killed her by stabbing her twice in the stomach and leaving her to bleed to death in a manhole.
The 10-page confession, made by Ahmad Najib Aris to a magistrate on June 21 last year, one day after his arrest, was read out in the High Court yesterday, and has been accepted as evidence.
Ahmad Najib’s 10-page confession was read out in the High Court after it was accepted as evidence by the presiding judge.
The 29-year-old aircraft cabin cleaner supervisor is accused of raping and murdering Canny at the 11th km Old Klang Road between 1am and 5am on June 14 last year.
Translation of Ahmad Najib Aris’ confession as taken down by the then magistrate Muhamad Rushdan Mohamad (Long text, but recommended read, if too lazy just read the bold letters)
Ahmad Najib and Canny Ong
IT WAS about 11pm to 11.15pm on Friday, June 13, 2003. I had gone to the Bangsar Shopping Complex to seek someone whom I had wanted to take revenge on.
Once I reached there, I walked from the first to the third floor. At about 11.30pm, on the second floor, I bumped into the person whom I suspected was the one I was looking for.
I tailed the Chinese woman for about 20m while she was heading to her Proton Tiara. She opened the door next to the driver?s seat and took something from the front passenger seat.
I pushed her and she fell onto the seat. I entered the car and sat on the driver?s seat and verbally threatened her to be quiet.
She was trembling with fear but obeyed my instructions. I drove the car from the second to the first floor and through the parking boom bar and headed towards Subang airport near Saujana.
I stopped the car at a bright spot where many cars were passing.
I struck a conversation with her and tried to refresh her memory to find out if she could remember me. She told me she did not know me.
I then checked her passport and found out that she was residing in America. I became confused as I had abducted the wrong person, but who looked very much like my target.
I talked with her with the intention of letting her go, but a motorcyclist came near our car and started knocking at the door.
The Indian man flashed his so-called authority card and ordered me to hand over my identity card and that of the woman.
I asked him to show me his authority card again so that I could see it clearly. When he refused, it struck me that he might be an impostor.
When he ordered us to get out of the car, I feared something might happen, and when I asked the man to return the identity cards, he refused, and I drove off.
Before I drove away, the Indian man managed to puncture the front right tyre of the car. I drove towards Subang Jaya with the woman. I stopped at Subang Jaya Shopping Complex and got out of the car to find that the tyre was punctured.
I continued towards Sunway Pyramid and finally parked the car at a construction site near the Taman Datuk Harun KTM Komuter station where the woman and I had a quarrel. At that moment, I felt that our relationship was like that of close friends.
We sat in the car for about five minutes before I jokingly asked her if she wanted to have sex with me. She became very quiet. I then took a knife out from below my seat and put it on the speedometer without making any threats against her.
She then agreed to have sex with me. I told her to climb over to the back seat and I followed.
We engaged in a sexual relationship which I thought was with the woman?s consent because she did not cry or show her anger. But shortly after having sex with her, I felt scared. I reached for the knife that I had placed on my foot. It was not my intention to stab her. She was wiping her lips with a piece of tissue paper and suddenly put up a struggle. I got a shock and stabbed her twice in the stomach.
I was stunned. I realised that she was still alive. Suddenly, I saw a man with a piece of wood in his hand coming towards the car. I climbed back to the driver?s seat and drove to another spot nearby. There I helped the woman put on her pants and blouse.
I told her not to move a lot because she was bleeding profusely. We spent 20 minutes in the car. Fearing that I would be spotted by passing patrol cars, I carried the woman to a barricade next to the car. The (height of the) barricade reached me above my chest.
I placed her on top of the barricade and I sat resting with her. She was still alive then, and I told her that I planned to send her to a hospital.
Before I went back to the car, I tied her hands and feet and gagged her mouth so that she could not move or scream.
Just before that, I saw a van and a red car stopping beside the Tiara. I leapt into a manhole and peeped at the two men while they ransacked the Tiara.
About five to seven minutes later, the two men drove their vehicles away and I went to the Tiara. I saw that they had taken the woman?s belongings such as her handphone and handbag, in which I suspected all her valuables were kept.
I was disappointed as I had intended to use her money to send her to the hospital.
Now, without the money, I could only keep her company where she was lying. I could not do anything except ask for her forgiveness.
I told her to go to heaven and pulled her down from the wall (barricade). She was almost lifeless (nyawa-nyawa ikan) by the time I shoved her into the manhole.
Before leaving her, I held her hand and apologised again. I told her I would burn her remains. She stared at me and just then the cloth which gagged her mouth came off. She told me to leave her alone. She said she would rather be left there as she was going to heaven.
I left her and covered the hole with a plank. She did not show any reaction. She did not scream or struggle.
I then drove the car about three kilometres and hid the car there. I walked towards a petrol station and threw the knife away.
I stopped a taxi and went home to Pantai Dalam. It was already about 6am to 6.10am on Saturday.
The next day, I bought two bottles of petrol and at about 11.30pm to midnight, I returned to the spot and removed the plank covering the manhole. I wept. I held her legs and hands and asked to be forgiven. I then sought permission to burn the corpse before leaving the scene.
My opinion
Ahmad Najib is charged under s302 of the Penal Code which carries a mandatory death sentence if convicted. Hence in order for Ahmad Najib to be convicted the prosecution must prove that Ahmad Najib intentionally killed or cause grievous bodily harm over Canny Ong. However,
I reached for the knife that I had placed on my foot. It was not my intention to stab her. She was wiping her lips with a piece of tissue paper and suddenly put up a struggle. I got a shock and stabbed her twice in the stomach.
Based on the confession above, Ahmad Najib claimed that he had no intention to kill her and acted on self defence. Therefore, if his confession were to be taken as it is, Ahmad Najib would only be guilty of manslaughter which only carries a maximum imprisonment of 20 years (s304A) or 10 years imprisonment (s304B).
I guess the public’s opinion is to impose death sentence for such inhuman act. However, the law does not provide for death sentence over manslaughter. Hence, don’t be surprised if you see Ahmad Najib being sentence to jail rather than being hung for it
[Edit: Ahmad Najib’s death sentence was upheld in the Federal Court. See grounds of judgement here]
Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY GUESTBLOGGER, GALFERARI AKA DIMSUM AKA WAN SAN!!
