SHAH ALAM: The High Court here yesterday postponed to Nov 15 to review the seven-year jail sentence handed down by the Telok Datok magistrates’ court on the two men who pleaded guilty to disposing of evidence in the murders of cosmetic millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.
Justice Datuk Wira Mohtaruddin Baki said he was using Section 323 of the Penal Code to review the case following complaints from the public that the decision handed down by magistrate Hurman Hussain was not in accordance with the law.
Section 323 of the Penal Code provides power for a judge to call and examine the record of any proceeding before any subordinate Criminal Court for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the correctness of the proceedings of that subordinate Court.
He fixed the date pending the grounds of judgment from the magistrate concerned.
Mohtarudin said the review was also postponed because there was an appeal filed by K Sarawanan, one of the two accused in the case, on his conviction and sentence.
If necessary, the review can be done during hearing of the appeal, he added.
On Oct 27, Sarawanan, through his lawyer, A S Dhaliwal, filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence at the High Court Criminal registry here.
On Oct 15, the former mechanic and U Suresh, 26, received the jail sentence from the magistrate’s court in Teluk Datuk after pleading guilty to disposing of evidence in the Banting murders.
Saravanan was charged with disposing the evidence by burning the remains of Sosilawati, 47, CIMB bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and Sosilawati’s driver, Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44.
The bodies of the four victims were burnt at Lot No 2001, Jalan Tanjung Layang, Tanjung Sepat, Banting, between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30.
Suresh was charged with disposing of evidence by throwing the ashes of the four bodies at Sungai Panchau, Jalan Morib Banting, between 8am and 10am on Aug 31, this year.
They were sentenced to seven years’ jail on each of the charges.
However, the magistrate ordered the sentence to run concurrently from the date of their arrest on Sept 9 this year.
On Oct 13, Patmanabhan and three farm workers, T Thilaiyalagan, 19, R Matan, 20, and R Khatavarayan, 30, were charged with murdering Sosilawati, Noorhisham, Ahmad Kamil and Kamaruddin.
They were alleged to have committed the offence at Lot No 2001 Jalan Tanjung Layang Tanjung Sepat, Banting, Selangor, between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30 this year. — Bernama