{
  "id": 212635,
  "title": "Inspektor diminta ubah keterangan, dijanji naik pangkat, mahkamah diberitahu",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/06/inspektor-diminta-ubah-keterangan-dijanji-naik-pangkat-mahkamah",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-06T08:07:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2026/08/06/inspektor-diminta-ubah-keterangan-dijanji-naik-pangkat-mahkamah-diberitahu"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Inspektor Usman Lanaga, 46, informed the High Court of Tawau that he was repeatedly asked to change his testimony regarding former Esscom chief security officer Mat Zaki Md Zain's alleged involvement in the murder of e-telephone call operator Nurman Bakaratu, 61, three years ago. Lanaga stated that he was also promised to be placed under a witness protection program and given a position if he agreed to change his testimony, but refused due to his certainty that the statement was true. During cross-examination by the Attorney-General's Office, the prosecution attempted to challenge the claim, emphasizing that witnesses never filed a police report or formal complaint regarding the accusation, citing the refusal of Berita Harian. However, Lanaga rejected the proposal and clarified that he did not file a report due to his trauma, pressure, and concerns for his safety. He testified as the third witness for the plaintiff in the RM190 million civil lawsuit filed against former senior officials and members of Esscom and 11 other defendants in front of Judge of Inquiry Steve Ritikos. During the main examination by the plaintiff's attorney, Sharatha Masyaroh John Ridwan Lincon, the witness stated that he was working as an Esscom field operation 2 staff when the incident occurred before being transferred to IPD Keningau after a second blow and is now serving as the head of the criminal narcotics investigation unit at IPD Keningau. According to him, on January 25, 2023, he and several Esscom members were present at the office early in the morning before Mat Zaki was arrested, followed by a group of tactical police officers in full gear who detained him along with several others. He said that after being taken to IPD Lahad Datu before being transferred to IPD Tawau, he was interrogated by several police officers who allegedly repeatedly pressured him to link Mat Zaki to the murder of the e-telephone call operator. Lanaga said he denied having knowledge of the incident and clarified that when the murder was allegedly committed on January 13, 2023, he was on vacation in Kuala Lumpur since January 5, before returning to Sabah on January 16, 2023. After explaining that, the investigators made an inquiry into the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage at his hotel, which allegedly corroborated his claim of being in Kuala Lumpur on that date. The witness also claimed that during the second remand at IPD Semporna, he was taken to IPD Tawau to meet former Head of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Abdul Jalil Hassan, who allegedly claimed to be authorized by the State Police Chief at the time before asking him to change his testimony. However, he still refused to change his testimony because he had no knowledge of the murder and did not want to link any individual without evidence. In his rebuttal examination, Zetty also suggested that the claim of a protected witness, job exchange, vote, and \"truthful or not truthful, charge first\" were frivolous, unsubstantiated, and speculative arguments.",
  "summary": "Usman Lanaga maklum dia enggan tuduh bekas ketua staf perisikan Esscom tanpa asas berkait kes bunuh pemandu e-panggilan.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}