Murder of Nonoi

On 1 March 2006, in Circuit Road, Singapore, a little girl was reported missing and there was a search conducted to look for the girl, affectionately known as Nonoi to her family. However, the truth is, the girl was actually raped and murdered by her stepfather, Mohammed Ali bin Johari, who later confessed to causing her death and was arrested. After that, the stepfather was convicted and tried for death for her murder.

Disappearance of Nonoi

On 1 March 2006, at a ground floor unit at Block 62, Circuit Road, 2-year-old Nurasyura binte Mohamed Fauzi, affectionately known as "Nonoi", suddenly went missing, and a search was conducted by her family and relatives. The girl's neighbours, and some strangers joined in the search. 3 days later, on 4 March, 29-year-old Mohammed Ali bin Johari, the girl's stepfather, suddenly broke down and tearfully confessed to his wife and mother that he had accidentally killed Nonoi by drowning her in a pail of water, shocking everyone. Mohammed Ali then led the police to the Aljunied Flyover along the Pan Island Expressway, where Nonoi's partially decomposed body was found at the lowest portion of the flyover. Mohammed Ali was then charged with his stepdaughter's murder. As he was brought away by police, several enraged neighbours and strangers shouted expletives at Mohammed Ali, who had been putting up a charade by praying for his stepdaughter' safety and asking for help while taking part in the search.

Autopsy results found sexual injuries on the girl, suggesting that the girl was sexually assaulted before her death. Nonoi's lungs were also found waterlogged, consistent with being drowned or immersed in water. Nonoi was later buried at Pusara Aman Mosque, after a brief funeral held by her family, in which the occasion was filled with heartbreak; it was reported at that time that Nonoi's mother could not leave her daughter's side even after her burial and the biological paternal grandmother of the girl fainted in the middle of the funeral.[1][2]

Trial and execution

Mohammed Ali bin Johari, who was a former drug addict and had three children in his first marriage, stood trial in 2007 for the murder of his stepdaughter in the High Court of Singapore. Mohammed Ali, in his defence, maintained that he did not rape the girl and would never do it as he loved Nonoi like his own flesh and blood, and that he immersed the girl in water with the purpose of merely wanting to stop her from crying (he told the police and court that Nonoi, for some reason, kept crying on the day itself and did not stop). Mohammed Ali also argued he did not intend to kill her, and accidentally immersed Nonoi in water for a longer period of time after doing so two times while picking up an incoming phone call. However, the phone records showed no evidence of Mohammed Ali taking any phone calls on the day of the murder, and there were inconsistencies in his police statements and court testimonies.[3]

According to Mohammed Ali, who married Nonoi's mother Mastura Kamsir in late 2005 after getting her pregnant and divorcing his first wife (who took custody of all three children), he said that when alone at home with Nonoi, she kept crying and she continued so even after he turned on the TV. To stop her crying, he said he dunked her briefly in a pail of water twice and the third one, he accidentally done it at a longer time as he went to answer a call. He stated that after she died, he quickly dressed Nonoi in dry clothes, brought her to his parents' flat and laid her on a bed, making it so that she was sleeping. It was only when his elderly father began his evening prayers then he went to dispose the body. When asked about the sexual injuries at her hymen, he said that when he bathed her on that day, he scrubbed the genitals of the girl.

Although there were two other possible reasons suggested behind the girl's death, Justice Kan Ting Chiu ruled in his final judgement that Nonoi died from the effects of the immersions (he felt that there were insufficient evidence to support the two possibilities behind Nonoi's death), and decided that Mohammed Ali had intentionally kept his stepdaughter immersed in water for a long period of time and it was not an accident. Therefore, on 31 August 2007, 31-year-old Mohammed Ali bin Johari was sentenced to death for murdering his stepdaughter. Mohammed Ali's appeal against the sentence failed, and on the morning of 19 December 2008, he was hanged in Changi Prison.[4][5]

References
  1. Hussain, Amir (2016-05-18). "Guilty As Charged: Man dunked stepdaughter Nonoi, 2, in pail of water, killing her". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  2. "Crimewatch 2009". meWATCH. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
  3. "Public Prosecutor v Mohammed Ali bin Johari" (PDF). Supreme Court Judgements. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  4. "Mohammed Ali bin Johari v Public Prosecutor" (PDF). Supreme Court Judgements. Retrieved 2020-07-26.
  5. Hussain, Amir (2016-05-18). "Guilty As Charged: Man dunked stepdaughter Nonoi, 2, in pail of water, killing her". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
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