Prosecution ordered to submit report on Rajamogan’s remand

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SHAH ALAM: The High Court here yesterday ordered the prosecution to submit a report on Friday on the issuance of a remand order on lorry attendant M Rajamogan.Justice Datuk Wira Mohtarudin Baki made the decision after Rajamogan’s lawyer, Amer Hamzah Arshad, applied for a review of the order issued by the Petaling Jaya magistrates’ court on March 19.

On March 15, Rajamogan was charged in the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court with the murder of 18-month-old K Haresvarra at the Vista Damansara Apartment, Petaling Jaya.

The offence was allegedly committed on March 3.

On the same day, the prosecution applied for a mention date pending consent to transfer the case to the High Court because the consent could not be given yet as the chemist’s, post-mortem and other medical reports were not ready.

The court adjourned the case and ordered that Rajamogan be remanded.

Yesterday, Amer Hamzah said the magistrates’ court should not have postponed the case and extended the remand order on his client without valid reason.

He said the failure by the prosecution to provide the relevant documents within the stipulated period should not be an excuse to extend Rajamogan’s remand order.

However, prosecuting officer Rosida Abu Bakar said that each time a remand order was issued for Rajamogan between March 19 and April 16, it never exceeded eight days.

Therefore, the order issued by the magistrate did not contravene section 259 of the Criminal Procedure Code, she added.

She also said that the prosecution had only obtained the post-mortem report and still waiting for other reports to proceed with the case.

“The excuse that the chemist’s report has yet to be obtained is reasonable because it involves somebody else’s jurisdiction.

“The prosecution cannot interfere to order them to get ready the report within a certain period,” she added.

Therefore, she said, the court should dismiss the review application by Rajamogan. — Bernama