MyWatch's Sanjeevan granted leave to appeal blackmail conviction

PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal allowed the application by former Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) chairman Datuk R. Sri Sanjeevan to obtain leave to appeal against his three-month jail sentence and RM7,000 fine on a charge of blackmailing a shop worker nine years ago.

The three-member panel led by Datuk Seri Kamaludin Md Said unanimously allowed Sanjeevan’s application for leave to appeal to set aside the conviction and sentence by the Temerloh High Court on Nov 27, 2020.

"The appellant (Sanjeevan) must file the appeal notice within 14 days beginning today,” said Justice Kamaludin, who presided Justices Hadhariah Syed Ismail and Nordin Hassan on Thursday (April 28).

The judges also allowed the businessman’s application for a stay of execution pending the disposal of his appeal.

Lawyer Datuk V.Sithambaram, representing Sanjeevan, informed the court that he would raise nine legal arguments in the appeal later.

On Aug 14, 2018, the Magistrate's Court in Temerloh sentenced Sanjeevan to three months’ jail and fined him RM7,000 after finding him guilty of extorting RM1,500 from a male shop worker by saying that the worker would face the risk of not being able to continue his business.

The offence was allegedly committed at the Triang Commercial Centre in Bera, Pahang at 9.45 pm on July 1, 2013, under Section 384 of the Penal Code.

On Nov 27, 2020, the Temerloh High Court upheld the Magistrate’s Court's decision. On Dec 4 of the same year, the High Court also allowed Sanjeevan’s application to postpone his jail term until his appeal has been decided by the Court of Appeal.

Judge Datuk Hassan Abdul Ghani, however, ordered Sanjeevan to pay bail of RM35,000 in two sureties and to surrender his passport, if any, to the court until the case is settled.

The court also ordered Sanjeevan to report himself to the Semenyih police station in Kajang, Selangor each week until the until completion of the case hearing at the Court of Appeal and to obtain the permission of the Kajang district police chief before leaving the district.

Hassan said if the applicant violated any of these conditions, his bail would be forfeited.

At the proceeding on Thursday, Sanjeevan was also represented by lawyers S.Preakas and Miguel Sequerah while deputy public prosecutor Atiqah Abdul Karim prosecuted in the case. - Bernama