SHAH ALAM: A witness in the murder case of cosmetics millionairess Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three other individuals, told the High Court here Wednesday that he saw four men throwing things at several locations in Banting in September last year.
U Suresh, 27, said he saw the acts on Sept 4 last year when he was behind the wheel of a lorry and trailing a blue four-wheel drive (4WD), with four men, including an Indonesian national, inside.
Prior to that, Suresh, the 29th prosecution witness, said a man had stopped the lorry he was driving at a junction leading to his work place, a farm at Tanjung Sepat, Banting, and asked whether the lorry was for lease.
Suresh, who is serving a 20-year-jail sentence for disposing of evidence in the murder case, said the man told him that he needed the lorry to dispose of some items used in prayers and was willing to pay RM250.
“At first, I said I was going to Puchong , but the man said he needed the lorry for only an hour. After I agreed to lease the lorry, an Indonesian man jumped down from the jeep (4WD) and got into my lorry and sat on the seat next to the passenger.
“The Indonesian man told me to follow the jeep. The jeep then stopped at a river. The driver of the jeep did not get down. I saw two men getting down from the jeep and throw a white sack into a drain.
“After that, they got back into the jeep and the jeep moved on,” he said when cross-examined by lawyer Manjeet Singh Dhillon, counsel for N Pathmanabhan, the first accused in the trial which entered its 17th day yesterday.
Suresh was testifying in the trial of Pathmanabhan, 42, a former lawyer and three farm workers, T. Thilaiyagan, 20, R Matan, 21, and R. Khatavarayan, 31, who are charged with murdering Sosilawati, 47, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, 38, and Sosilawati’s driver, Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, at Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjong Layang, Tanjung Sepat, Banting, between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30, 2010.
If found guilty they face the death sentence under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read with Section 34 of the same code.
Suresh, who testified in Tamil, and later translated by a court interpreter, said the jeep then stopped at a small bridge, about four to six kilometres from the first stop, and then saw a man throwing something into a river.
“I did not see what was thrown into the river. After that I followed the jeep in my lorry again and then the jeep stopped at a forested area near Jalan Kelanang.
“I saw a black car about 20 metres from my lorry. I did not see who or how many people were in the black car because the window screens were tinted.
“Then I got down and opened the rear of the lorry before getting back into to driver’s cabin. I then saw the Indonesian man and another man loading some things into my lorry for about 10 minutes. Following that the black car led the way followed by the jeep and my lorry,” he said.
The witness said about three to 10 minutes later, all three vehicles stopped by a river where he saw the Indonesian and two men from the jeep taking out things from his lorry and dumping them into the river.
Suresh, who was still in the driver’s seat, also said he heard sounds of zinc sheets being stepped on.
“I then saw the driver of the jeep asking for payment from someone in the black car. The driver of the black car wound down the window screen on his side in dealing with the man. Thereafter the driver of the jeep handed me RM300 and when I told him the amount was only RM250, he did not say anything and I kept the balance,” he said.
Manjeet: “After that did you straight head to Puchong?”
Suresh: “No, I stopped at a place. The Indonesian man said he wanted to get down in Subang Jaya and as I would be passing the place, asked if I could drop him there.”
Suresh then said that when he reached a factory and flats area in Subang Jaya, the Indonesian told him he wanted to see someone and about 10 minutes later saw him throw a cigarette packet into a ditch while heading back to his lorry.
“Before he left the place, the Indonesian handed me two handphones but I declined. He was adamant that I take them. When I arrved back at my estate, I told my employer Ravi (the fourth accused) about the man who hired the lorry and gave him one of the handphones,” he said.
Manjeet: “Ravi took the handphone?
Suresh: “Ravi scolded me because the material thrown were prayer items. He asked me whether I knew about the background of the handphones and instructed me to throw them away.
The witess said he disposed of the two handphones in a drain near the main market in Banting.
To a question by Manjeet, Suresh said he had never committed any crimes or committed murder on the night of Aug 30, 2010 (the date of the murders) and had not known Pathmanabhan until he was arrested on Sept 9, 2010.
The witness also claimed that he was beaten by a policeman named Govindan and other policemen and had a pistol pointed at his head to make him implicate Pathmanabhan in the murders.
Earlier, Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir had allowed the recording of Suresh’s statement by police to be used in the proceedings after the prosecution sought to impeach the witness’ testimony in court.
Akhtar allowed this after he was satisfied that the prosecution were able to prove that the statement recorded met requirements under Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
However, the judge did not allow the recording to be tendered as evidence.
He said this was because Suresh was a witness in the trial and not an accused.
Akhtar then continued with the proceedings and asked Surehsh to explain 22 contradictions between his statement to the police and his testimony in court.
After hearing Suresh’s explanation, Akhtar said he would decide whether to impeach the witness at the end of the prosecution’s case.
The hearing continues today. — Bernama