PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today reserved its verdict on the final appeals by six men convicted and sentenced to death for the 2015 murder of deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais, whose body was found in a concrete-filled drum.
Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who led a three-man panel, said the bench needed time to decide on the appeals and would set a date for the decision later.
Also on the panel were Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judge Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang.
The panel resumed hearing the appeals filed by former pathologist Colonel Dr R. Kunaseegaran, 62, money lender S. Ravi Chandran, 54; and unemployed persons, R. Dinishwaran, 33; A.K. Thinesh Kumar, 32; M. Vishwanath, 35; and S. Nimalan, 32.
The proceedings follow earlier hearings held on March 13 and April 23 this year.
The six appellants were found guilty and sentenced to death by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in July 2020 for the murder of Morais, 55.
The Court of Appeal dismissed their appeals on March 14 last year and upheld the convictions and death sentences. They subsequently appealed to the Federal Court.
The murder took place at a location along Jalan Dutamas Raya Sentul and Jalan USJ 1/6D, Subang Jaya, between 7 am and 8 pm on September 4, 2015.
Morais was last seen leaving in a Proton Perdana Car from his Menara Duta condominium, Kuala Lumpur, to his office at the Attorney-General’s Chambers in Putrajaya. His body was found in a concrete-filled drum at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya, on September 16 of the same year.
During the proceedings today, Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim urged the court to reject the submission by Nimalan’s lawyer to adopt the “dual crimes principle” applied in Singapore for cases involving a single incident.
He said the principles laid down in the Singapore cases of Daniel Vijay Katherasan and others v PP (2010) and PP v Azlin Bte Arjunah and others (2022) are not binding on Malaysian courts as they would make it more difficult to prove crimes committed by groups and could result in offenders escaping punishment.
Yusaini said there was forensic evidence linking Nimalan to the crime and that he was also the one who provided information that led to the discovery of the drum containing the victim’s body.
He said a plastic bag recovered from the vehicle driven by Nimalan was found to contain the deceased’s DNA, while a T-shirt contained DNA from Nimalan, Ravi Chandran, and the deceased.
“Based on all the evidence presented, we submit that the sixth accused (Nimalan) clearly acted in furtherance of a common intention to commit the murder,” said Yusaini.
In response, lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing Nimalan, urged the court to consider the dual crime principle as evidence showed that the discussion held a day before the incident only discussed abducting Morais and not killing him.
He said Nimalan should not have been charged with murder, but only with abduction or disposing of evidence.
