14-05-2025
Federal Court reserves judgment in appeal of six convicted of murdering Kevin Morais
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court has reserved its judgment in the appeals brought by six men who were convicted in the murder of Deputy Public Prosecutor Kevin Morais a decade ago.
Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who chaired a three-judge panel, said the court needed some time to decide on the appeal.
"We will fix a date later to deliver the decision," she said here on Wednesday (May 14).
Other judges on the panel were Court of Appeal president Justice Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judge Justice Rhodzariah Bujang.
The six convicted individuals in the murder case are former pathologist Col R Kunaseegaran, 62, moneylender S. Ravi Chandaran, 54, and four unemployed men, R. Dinishwaran, 33; AK Thinesh Kumar, 32; M. Vishwanath, 35; and S. Nimalan, 32.
They were sentenced to death by the High Court in 2020 and the decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal in March, last year.
Earlier, the apex court heard lengthy submissions from both parties in the case.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim submitted that Morais' murder should not be viewed as a "single transaction" but rather a culmination of a series of coordinated actions, undertaken with the shared intent to cause the victim's death.
"Although the accused may have played a minor role in the overall incident, he can still be held criminally liable for murder, as the circumstances fulfil the elements of 'common intention' as outlined under Section 34 of the Penal Code," he said.
The prosecution submitted that the convictions of all six men were safe and urged the court to dismiss the appeal.
DPP Yusaini was replying to a submission by defence lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad who had previously submitted that his client, Nimalan, should not be made liable for the murder of Morais.
In his reply, Amer Hamzah said that Nimalan should be acquitted from the murder charge as it was not safe to convict him solely for being present at the scene.
"I'm not saying that my client should be let off scot-free. He may be involved in the abduction but not the murder," the lawyer said.
Other lawyers present were Kitson Foong (representing Ravi Chandaran), M. Manoharan (for Dinishwaran), Datuk N. Sivananthan (for Kunaseegaran), Burhanudeen Abdul Wahid (for Thinesh Kumar) and Afifuddin Ahmad Hafifi (Vishwanath).
Morais was murdered between 7am and 8pm on Sept 4, 2015, at locations along Jalan Dutamas Raya, Sentul, and No. 1, Jalan USJ 1/6D, Subang Jaya.
He was reported missing on the same day after he was last seen leaving his apartment at Menara Duta, Kuala Lumpur, in a Proton Perdana.
His body was discovered on Sept 16, 2015, encased in cement inside an oil drum at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya.
