Ex-coach Ramanathan a free man as court reduces jail term

PUTRAJAYA: Former national athletics coach C. Ramanathan was a free man Wednesday after the Court of Appeal reduced to 12 months his four-year jail term on two counts of molesting two junior athletes 19 years ago.

The three-man bench of Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus, Datuk Abdul Wahab Patail and Datuk Linton Albert unanimously allowed his appeal on the sentence and substituted the jail term with 12 months for each charge.

The panel ordered Ramanathan, 75, to serve the sentences concurrently.

However, Ramanathan had served 10 months of the sentence, from July 11, 2008, to May 11, 2009, when a different appellate panel in 2008 allowed the prosecution's appeal to set aside the High Court's decision to acquit him.

He was set free once again, on April 17, 2009, when a different appellate court panel allowed his review application to set aside the previous appellate court's order upholding his conviction and sentence.

That panel, led by then Federal Court (and now retired) judge Datuk Gopal Sri Ram had also directed the appeal to be heard before a different panel.

With the 10 months jail term served and a one-third remission for good behaviour, Ramanathan is a free man.

In his decision, Justice Mohd Hishamudin said the substitution to 12 months jail was in view of Ramanathan's age and the long time his appeal took to come to a conclusion.

Ramanathan was sentenced by the Sessions Court in 1996 to four years jail each on each charge, to run concurrently, for using criminal force on two junior athletes aged 15 and 16 with intent to outrage their modesty at the Malaysian Amateur Basketball Association building in Jalan Hang Tuah here between 9 am and 10 pm on Oct 23 and 27, 1992.

He was given a stay of execution of the sentence pending appeal and released on RM10,000 bail.

On Feb 24, 2005, the High Court allowed Ramanathan's appeal and quashed his conviction and sentence.

Replying to a question on the court's verdict, Ramanathan said: "All I can say is that I did a sports massage but it was misunderstood."

He said that when the complaint was lodged against him in 1994, he was doing very well as a coach and there was a lot of jealousy.

Ramanathan was represented by lawyer Karpal Singh while deputy public prosecutor Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud appeared for the prosecution. - Bernama