PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has upheld the convictions of three men, including an army pathologist, in the murder of deputy public prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais.
A three-judge panel chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat unanimously upheld the conviction for Col Dr R. Kunaseegaran, 62; moneylender S. Ravi Chandran, 54; and S. Nimalan, 32.
Nimalan was sentenced to 35 years in jail with 12 strokes of the rotan and Ravi Chandran to 40 years in prison but was spared the whipping due to his age.
Kunaseegaran's death sentence remains as he withdrew his appeal on his sentence.
The three men were found guilty for the murder of Morais who was found in a concrete-filled drum at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya, on Sept 16, 2015.
In the broad judgment read by Court of Appeal president Justice Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, he said the court had considered the defence of the three and found it had not created doubt in the prosecution's case.
Another judge on the panel was Federal Court judge Justice Rhodzariah Bujang.
At the same time, the court acquitted three others - R. Dinishwaran, 33; AK Thinesh Kumar, 32; M. Vishwanath, 35, after finding insufficient evidence to convict them in the 2015 murder.
Abang Iskandar said Dinishwaran, Thinesh Kumar and Vishwanath should have been acquitted without being ordered to enter their defence.
“We allow their appeals and hereby set aside their conviction for murder,” he added.
During mitigation for sentencing, Kunaseegaran's lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan informed that court that he had been instructed to withdraw his appeal against the death penalty.
Lawyer Datuk Amer Hamzah Arshad, who represented Nimalan, sought for his client's death penalty to be commuted to jail time.
He said Nimalan, who was 22 at the time of offence, was a permanent resident in Singapore and had enrolled in the army there.
Nimalan had religiously attended classes in prison and Amer said this showed that rehabilitation has been achieved.
"He was a college student and had a promising future. This episode had robbed him of that. I believe every individual should be given a chance to turn over a new leaf," Amer said.
Lawyer Kitson Foong, who represented Ravi Chandran, also mitigated for prison time on grounds that his client was a first time offender.
"We pray the death sentence be replaced with prison sentence. I wouldn't even suggest a number. I leave that to the court," he added.
Meanwhile, Deputy Public Prosecutor Fairuz Johari urged the court to maintain the death sentence as a crime had been committed against a public servant who was carrying out his duty.
"The case had shocked the nation. His death was due to Kunaseegaran's dissatisfaction towards the deceased who was prosecuting a case against him (Kunaseegaran). The abduction happened in broad daylight and the body was placed in a drum to be disposed of.
"The killing was driven by revenge. The death sentence must be upheld," he added.
When approached by reporters, the deceased's next-of-kin, Datuk Richard Morais, said he had no comment on the case.
"I am the younger brother who buried Kevin," he said before walking away.
Kunaseegaran and the rest were convicted by the Kuala Lumpur High Court in July 2020 for the murder of Morais, 55.
The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in a ruling delivered on March 14 last year.
The murder took place at a location along Jalan Dutamas Raya Sentul and Jalan USJ 1/6D, Subang Jaya, between 7am and 8pm on Sept 4, 2015.
