By Timothy Achariam | The Edge Malaysia
In her last decision as a Federal Court judge, outgoing Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat has set aside the conviction and freed three men involved in the 2015 murder of deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais, but upheld the death penalty for ex-military doctor R. Kunaseegaran, who masterminded the murder.
In the decision handed down by a three-member bench led by Tengku Maimun, sitting with Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim (who is outgoing on Wednesday due to retirement, a day after Tengku Maimun) and Federal Court judge Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang, the apex court also set aside the death sentence of two other men involved in the murder and gave them prison terms.
The ones who were freed were R. Dinishwaran, 33, A. K. Thinesh Kumar, 32, and M. Vishwanath, 35, as the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against them.
S. Nimalan, 32, was given 35 years’ jail and 12 strokes of the rotan, while S. Ravi Chandran, 54, was sentenced to 40 years’ imprisonment.
However, Ravi Chandran was spared the whipping due to his age.
The bench upheld the death penalty for Kunaseegaran for his role in the murder, as he had, through his lawyer, told the bench that he was withdrawing his appeal against the sentence.
Lawyer N. Sivananthan, representing Kunaseegaran, informed the court that his client had instructed him to withdraw his appeal against the death penalty that had been imposed by the High Court and affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
Abang Iskandar said that Dinishwaran, Thinesh Kumar, and Vishwanath should have been acquitted at the trial stage without being ordered to enter their defence.
Abang Iskandar said that the prosecution had relied on circumstantial evidence in convicting Nimalan and Ravi Chandran.
“We find it (the circumstantial evidence) was credible and compelling, we considered the defence of the three (Kunaseegaran’s included), and they have not created doubt in the prosecution’s case,” Abang Iskandar said.
Lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing Nimalan, and counsel Kitson Foong, appearing for Ravi Chandran, had mitigated for jail terms, given the courts’ discretionary power.
Amer Hamzah had asked for a chance for his client to turn over a new leaf, given that he was only 22 years old when the crime was committed.
Foong conceded that the murder was brutal, but pleaded for a jail term of 30-40 years.
Deputy public prosecutor Fairuz Johari had pressed for the death sentence to be maintained, as a serious crime had been committed against a civil servant in broad daylight.
Kunaseegaran was charged with abetting Ravi Chandran, Dinishwaran, Thinesh Kumar, Vishwanath, and Nimalan in the murder of Morais.
The crime took place between 7am and 8pm on Sept 4, 2015, along the way from Jalan Dutamas Raya in Kuala Lumpur, to Jalan USJ 1/6D, Subang Jaya, in Selangor.
Morais was reported missing on Sept 4, 2015. He was last seen leaving his apartment in Menara Duta in a Proton Perdana car with the registration number WA6264Q.
His remains were discovered in a cemented drum at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya, on Sept 16, 2015.
The prosecution had stated that all the accused, except for the doctor, had gathered at the Syed Bistro restaurant in Petaling Jaya before proceeding to Jalan Dutamas to wait for and follow Morais from his residence.
Evidence presented showed that Morais’ car was rammed by a Mitsubishi Triton shortly after he left his house. He was then forcibly removed from his car, placed in a plastic sack, and put in the boot of the Mitsubishi.
Morais was subsequently kept in an oil drum overnight in front of a stall belonging to Gunasekaran at No 1, Jalan USJ 1/6, Subang.
Using a forklift, the accused then dumped the drum containing Kevin into a swamp not far from the stall.
The motive behind the killing was revenge by Kunaseegaran who orchestrated it, due to Morais prosecuting him for a corruption case.
Court evidence showed that Kunaseegaran was dissatisfied with Morais for adding charges against him, and he subsequently hired the five men to carry out the murder.
