Family of killed teen to file civil suit against hospital, cops

GEORGE TOWN: After five men were acquitted of the charge of killing teenager T. Nhaveen six years ago, the family of the deceased announced plans to file a civil suit against the police and Penang Hospital on grounds that they did not present the necessary evidence during the trial.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Nhaveen Action Investigation League (NAIL) chairman Arun Doraisamy said the family was ready to file a civil suit against those authorities.

“The world deserves to know what exactly happened to Nhaveen,” he said yesterday.

Earlier, the five men escaped the gallows when they were acquitted of murdering Nhaveen in 2017.

S. Gopinath, 32, and four others who were juveniles when they were charged and are now aged 24, were immediately released after High Court judge Radzi Hamid held that the prosecution had failed to prove there was a prima facie against all the accused.

Radzi, when reading his decision, said the key prosecution witness was found to be not credible.

“The court finds that the facts and evidence presented for the murder charge were unclear and did not prove that the five accused had intentions to kill the victim,” he said, adding that there were contradictions in the testimonies of other witnesses.

He said that since the testimony of the key witness, who is now 25, was found to be unreliable and entirely rejected, his testimony on the assault case could not be accepted either.

Arun said Nhaveen’s family accepted Radzi’s decision and stressed that the judge had done a thorough job.

He, instead, highlighted weaknesses in the prosecution’s case in terms of the evidence presented before the court.

He said the prosecution was at liberty to file an appeal, while Nhaveen’s family would pursue a civil suit against the authorities.

On June 19, 2017, the five accused were brought to court on charges of killing 18-year-old Nhaveen.

They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the code.

All of the accused were also charged under Section 326 of the Penal Code for causing grievous bodily harm to the victim.

It was reported that Nhaveen had been beaten up by purportedly five people while buying burgers in Jalan Kaki Bukit, Bukit Gelugor, at night.

Nhaveen’s friend, who was there with him, escaped. Nhaveen was later found unconscious in a field with serious injuries including burns on his back and signs that a blunt object had been shoved into his anus.