Court acquits labourer of double murder in Johor Bahru
PETALING JAYA : The Johor Bahru High Court today discharged and acquitted a labourer of a charge of murdering a single mother and her male friend at a flat at Taman Ungku Aminah in Skudai, Johor Bahru, seven years ago.
Justice Abu Bakar Katar made the ruling after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against M Jaykumar, 39, at the close of its case.
In his judgment, Bakar said the prosecution failed to prove that the deaths of K Kamala, 51, and S Silvaraja, 59, were caused by injuries inflicted by the accused.
He said the court also took into account that no traces of the victims' blood were found on the accused's clothes or belongings, and that the investigating officer did not seize these items to test for the victims' DNA.
'The prosecution also failed to prove that the jewellery pawned by the accused belonged to Kamala, as her children could not confirm its ownership during testimony.
'There is reasonable doubt since some jewellery was still found with Kamala.
'The prosecution attempted to rely on the theory that the accused was the last person seen with the victims, setting the timeline between 7pm on Oct 31 and 3am on Nov 1.
'However, according to a witness, Kamala was still on the phone at 11.50pm. How could the prosecution fix 7pm as the starting time when the victim was still alive?
'This court finds that without other supporting evidence, it is insufficient to link the accused to the murders,' the judge said.
Jaykumar was charged with the murders of Kamala and Silvaraja at a flat at Jalan Hang Jebat 14, Taman Ungku Aminah, between 7pm and 3am on Oct 31 and Nov 1, 2018.
The charge, framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, provides for the death penalty, or 30 to 40 years' jail and no fewer than 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.
Twenty witnesses were called by the prosecution, led by deputy public prosecutor Juanita Said, while Jaykumar was represented by lawyers Freda Sabapathy and K Sarawanan.
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