SEREMBAN: Two men have been acquitted and discharged by the High Court here over the murder of a 25-year-old man five years ago.
In her ruling, Judge Rohani Ismail stated that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against B. Anbalagan, 43, and L. Sivalingam, 46, who were both unemployed at the time of the alleged murder of 25-year-old M. Suresh.
"The court finds that the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case against both the accused at the end of the prosecution's case and they are hereby acquitted and discharged," she said.
The duo were charged with committing the offence between 9.15pm on Sept 11, 2019, and 1am the following day along Jalan Tuanku Munawir.
They were charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same legislation.
Offenders can be sentenced to death or imprisoned between 30 and 40 years, with mandatory whipping of not less than 12 strokes upon conviction.
According to the facts of the case, members of the public found the deceased unconscious and bleeding profusely before calling the police.
He was partially naked and only had a shirt on.
A post-mortem carried out on the deceased found that he had been assaulted.
Anbalagan was represented by S. Karthigesan and A. R. Thamayanthy, while Datuk Mohd Aimi Zaini Mohd Azhar appeared for Sivalingam.
Khairunnisa Hazwani Omar prosecuted.
