client. “You will,” said the judge, “remember that the boatman, in his evidence, said that he never changed his story, nor did anyone ever ask him to do so… you will dismiss that incident from your mind entirely.”
Before the fifth day of the trial was over the judge had been told to his astonishment that Yusuf had been brought to the Supreme Court by Sunny Ang and a lawyer on 29 October 1964 (14 months after Jenny had disappeared), to swear an affidavit. His Lordship: The accused himself came to Pulau Brani to see you? Yusuf: Yes. His Lordship: Who was the lawyer he took you to? Yusuf: I do not know the name of the lawyer, my Lord. He is hunch-backed and bald-headed. His Lordship: Let me look at those affidavits. (He examines them.) Presumably somebody from Lim and Lee. Who is this hunch-backed lawyer? Mr Coomaraswamy: Mr Lim Tiong Quee, my Lord. His Lordship: More remarkable evidence, Mr Coomaraswamy. Mr Coomaraswamy: Well, this was long before the accused was arrested. His Lordship: I am once again startled-not by you, but by what has been going on in this case. Very well, the jury will no doubt form their own conclusion. Anyhow, the accused approached you personally at Pulau Brani, brought you back and you saw somebody from Lim and Lee. And you were then, presumably, asked to swear an affidavit. Right? Yusuf: Yes.
Evidence was also given that Sunny Ang made an affidavit (which was not read out in Court) and that Yusuf in his affidavit said he agreed with it when it was read over to him. Crown Counsel: Did the girl speak to the accused in any language other than English? Yusuf: The girl spoke one or two words in Malay. Crown Counsel: Can you remember what they were? Yusuf: ‘ Banyak chantek pandang dalam ayer. ’ (Very beautiful under water.) Crown counsel: The rest was in English which you do not understand? Yusuf: That is so. Crown Counsel: Your affidavit confirms that what Jenny said to the accused was true: how do you explain that, if you don’t know what she said? Yusuf: Well, I believed the accused when he told me so.
Later, Yusuf was questioned about Sunny Ang’s conduct. Crown counsel reminded him he had made a statement to Malaysian Adjustment (an insurance investigation agency) that Ang was actually weeping. In another statement he said he did not know whether the moisture on Ang’s face was tears or sea water. Yusuf: I remember that he was weeping because the tears came out. Crown Counsel: Now you say he was in tears? Yusuf: Yes. Crown Counsel: You saw tears: did you hear him crying? Yusuf: No, I did not hear him. Crown Counsel: Those tears or water you saw. What was the volume? How many drops? Did they flow fast and furious? Yusuf: I merely saw tears over this part of the face below the eyes. His Lordship: Just a little moisture that you saw? Yusuf: Yes. His Lordship: Which appeared to you to be tears having come from the eyes? Yusuf: Yes.
Vernon Bailey, a marine officer attached to the Singapore Marine Department, gave evidence that the channel between the two Sisters Islands is not very wide. The narrow channel he described as ‘something in the nature of a funnel’. His Lordship: A funnel between the two reefs, is that it? Bailey: Funnel between the two islands and between the two reefs. His Lordship. Which makes it a more constricted funnel? Bailey: It makes it a more constricted area, the funnel. By nature of the channel between the islands the water is almost pushed in. His lordship: Sucked in? Bailey: Sucked in and blown out the other end. His Lordship: It blows out? Bailey: Yes, accelerates and blows out and you get whirls and eddies which are sort of circular motions of the water, not to be confused with a whirl, a circular motion of water. His Lordship: Of some force, of some severity? Bailey: Of some considerable force.
On Friday, 7 May, the sixth day of the trial, Sunny Ang’s 15-year-old brother, William, was called by the prosecution to give evidence that Sunny had taught him to scuba-dive. He had been scuba-diving for six months and had read Sunny’s books on the subject. He said that Sunny had warned him about the hazards. Crown Counsel: What were the hazards against which he warned you? William Ang: The hazards were mainly caused by pressure. Well, when you are diving and you are about to go up at say from 50 feet, the pressure below is always greater than the pressure above, so that as you go higher the air in your lungs will expand. So you must release some of the air when you go up, or else your lungs will, with the air inside, expand and burst your lungs. Therefore, it is very important to go up very slowly.
The green flipper was produced and crown counsel asked the witness if he recognized it. William Ang: I think I do. Crown Counsel: That was one of the two, which you borrowed from David Benjamin Woodworth? William Ang: I think so.
David Benjamin Woodworth, a student, was a classmate of William Ang in 1963, and he gave evidence that he lent William two pairs of flippers. Crown counsel: Is that one of the green pair you lent him? Woodworth: Yes. Crown Counsel: And when you lent it to him in what condition was it? Woodworth: I think it was in good condition. Crown Counsel: Was the strap burst? Woodworth: No. Crown Counsel: Or cut in any way? Woodworth: No.
David Henderson, specially flown out from England for the trial, said he was a senior aircraftsman at RAF Changi and a member of the RAF Changi Sub-aqua Club when he dived down and found the green flipper in the straits of Pulau Dua on 3 September 1963, a week after Jenny’s disappearance. The boatman Yusuf and a police party were present. He went down twice the day before. Mr Coomaraswamy: My Lord- His Lordship: Just a moment, Mr Seow. Yes, Mr Coomaraswamy? Mr Coomaraswamy: Fully conscious of any possible repercussions that may arise by my standing up so frequently- His Lordship: I am delighted to see the enthusiasm with which you are conducting the defence, Mr Coomaraswamy. Mr Coomaraswamy: I mean, I should be regarded as an irritating counsel by you- His Lordship: You may by your colleagues, but certainly not by myself and my fellow brother judges.
Mr Coomaraswamy went on to complain about the legal technicalities concerning the notice of this evidence.
Henderson continued with his evidence of the second day’s diving, on 3 September 1963. He said he made two dives wearing full equipment, about 11:00 AM. Crown Counsel: On your first dive did you find anything? Henderson: No. Crown Counsel: What was the depth you reached on the first dive? Henderson: Forty-five feet. Crown Counsel: That was at sea bottom? Henderson: Yes. Crown Counsel: For how long were you under? Henderson: Fifty-five minutes. Crown Counsel: You came up to change your tank? Henderson: Yes, I did. Crown Counsel: Then you went down again? Henderson: Yes. Crown Counsel: What depth did you reach this time? Henderson: Forty-five feet. Crown Counsel: Did you find anything? Henderson: I found a green-coloured flipper. Crown Counsel: I see. Where? Henderson: On the sea-bed. His Lordship: How did you find it? How was it on the sea-bed? Henderson: It was lying on the sea-bed at that particular point- or rather rough rocks, or what-have-you. It was lying beside those rocks. His lordship: Was it in any way covered or was it just quite open to view? Henderson: Quite open to view. His Lordship: Not covered with sand or mud? Henderson: There was a little mud over it, but not very much. His Lordship: Not very much. It was quite plain to the eye was it? Henderson: Yes. Crown Counsel: You handed it subsequently to the police? Henderson: Yes. Crown Counsel: Can you describe the condition of the flipper as you found it that day? Henderson: The heel-strap was severed. The rubber was in good condition. There were no barnacles or growth of any type or other. Crown Counsel: That means to show that it had been lying there for a long time? Henderson: Yes. Crown Counsel: Did you find any current?
Henderson replied that there was a current, and that visibility was about 12 feet at the bottom on the seabed. There was also an undertow that carried him downwards. He stemmed it with considerable effort but at one point he was carried away about 150 yards.
Later the witness emphasized that a novice diver should never dive alone.
Crown Counsel: Is this what the Americans call the Buddy System? His Lordship: Let us try and still carry on in the English language, with due respect to any American. Crown Counsel: You must always dive with another person with you? Henderson: Yes. Crown Counsel: Would you be able to tell this Court what would be a scuba- diver’s greatest enemy under water? Henderson: Panic. Crown Counsel: What would happen to a diver who suddenly loses his, one of his, flippers while he is scuba-diving? Henderson: His equilibrium would be upset, his mobility would be impaired, and this may well lead to panic in the case of an inexperienced diver. Crown Counsel: Have you yourself experienced losing a flipper while scuba-diving? Henderson: I have. Crown Counsel: Can you tell this Court what happened to you? Henderson: My flipper came off. They were slightly too big for me. One came off, and like I said, equilibrium was upset, mobility was impaired, so I dropped my weight belt and surfaced.
Cross-examined by defence counsel, Henderson said that while there were no barnacles on the flipper when he found it, there were certain types of growth.
Mr Coomaraswamy: Like what? Henderson: I do not know the name. Mr coomaraswamy: How long would the thing have to be under water before barnacles grow? Henderson: I would say round about two to three weeks. Mr Coomaraswamy: Is it not correct that when you found the flipper it was in fact wedged in rocks? Henderson: It was not wedged or surrounded by rocks. Mr Coomaraswamy: What was the nature of the rocks at the place where you found this flipper? Were they high or undulating in between? Henderson: High, very different forms.
