KUALA LUMPUR – The appellate court has set March 14, next year, to announce its decision on the appeal filed by six individuals appealing against the death sentence for the murder of deputy public prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais.
Justices Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim, and Datuk Azmi Ariffin fixed the date today after concluding the final submissions from both parties.
The Court of Appeal conducted a three-day hearing to consider the appeal from Colonel Dr R. Kunaseegaran, S. Ravi Chandaran, R. Dinishwaran, A.K. Thinesh Kumar, M. Vishwanath, and S. Nimalan on December 4, December 7, and today.
On the initial hearing day, lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan, representing Kunaseegaran, argued that the charge against his client was defective from the start, as there was no direct or substantial evidence linking the accused to Morais’ murder.
On December 7, Kitson Foong, representing Ravi Chandaran, highlighted that G. Gunasekaran, an accomplice turned witness, testified during the trial but did not provide information on Morais’ murder.
Today, Afiffudin Ahmad Hafifi, representing Vishwanath, said there was a lack of evidence connecting his client to the murder after the collision with Morais’ car on September 4, 2015. Afiffudin argued against the “last seen principle” as the sole basis for conviction.
“There is no evidence whatsoever presented by the prosecution to show where he (Vishwanath) was, after his presence in the vehicle. If the accused cannot be placed at the crime scene, then the court cannot charge him for having a common intention to kill Morais,” he said.
Afiffudin urged the court to reduce Vishwanath’s sentence to Section 365 of the Penal Code for abduction.
Meanwhile, Amer Hamzah Arshad, representing Nimalan, appealed for a reduced sentence under Section 304 or Section 365 and 201 of the Penal Code.
During the appeal hearing, M. Manoharan represented Dinishwaran, and Burhanudeen Abdul Wahid represented Thinesh Kumar.
Appellate and Trial Division head, Datuk Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, handling the prosecution, countered Afiffudin’s submissions by asserting that the accused’s presence is not always necessary to establish participation. He argued that common intention can be inferred from circumstances and conduct.
“A common intention may often be difficult to prove by way of direct evidence in practice, but it can be inferred from the circumstances of the case and the conduct of the accused.
“Direct evidence as a proof is difficult to procure because common intention is essentially a state of mind. (However) the totality of the circumstances must be taken into consideration in concluding whether there is a common intention to commit the offence for which the accused could be convicted,” he submitted today.
Dusuki pleaded for the court to uphold the death sentence, while defence lawyers sought an acquittal and discharge for the accused.
Kevin Morais, 55, went missing on September 4, 2015, and was later found dead in a drum barrel filled with cement in Subang Jaya on September 16 of the same year.
The high court sentenced the six individuals to death on July 10, 2020, after finding them guilty of Morais’ murder, which occurred along Jalan Dutamas Raya Sentul and No. 1, Jalan USJ 1/6D, Subang Jaya, between 7 am and 8 pm on September 4, 2015. – December 14, 2023