KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court was told yesterday that the first accused in the deputy public prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais’ murder case, Colonel Dr R.Kunaseegaran, had promised to engage lawyers and pay the legal fees for all the other accused as he felt guilty for dragging them along to prison for his wrongdoing.
A. Murugan 48, a mechanic and also the former accused in the case, said Dr Kunaseegaran made that promise to them when they were remanded in custody.
“Yes, he said so,” Murugan said when asked by lawyer V.Rajehgopal during cross-examination whether he agreed that Dr Kunaseegaran had wanted to engage lawyers and pay the legal fees for all the accused as the military doctor felt guilty after they were detained because of him.
Rajehgopal was representing four of the accused, namely R.Dinishwaran, A.K Thinesh Kumar, M. Vishwanath and S. Nimalan.
Murugan, who was formerly the eighth accused, was released after serving a two-year sentence for disposing of Kevin Morais’ car and its chassis number at his workshop.
Murugan was initially charged with murdering the deputy public prosecutor but was offered an alternative charge of removing the chassis number of Kevin Morais’ car, to which he pleaded guilty.
During cross-examination by lawyer A.Sheelan representing S. Ravi Chandaran, Murugan said all the accused agreed to accept Dr Kunaseegaran’s offer as they could not afford to engage their own lawyers due to financial constraints.
However, the witness agreed with Sheelan’s suggestion that, not long after that, Dr Kunaseegaran had told them that he would not pay the legal fees as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission was monitoring him.
Murugan also agreed that after Dr Kunaseegaran told them so, he (Murugan) had told Ravi Chandaran that he wanted to plead guilty to the alternative charge as he had no other choice.
To a question from deputy public prosecutor Saiful Edris Zainuddin on the actual reason that made Dr Kunaseegaran wanted to engage lawyers and pay the legal fees for all the accused, Murugan said he did not know.
Dr Kunaseegaran, Ravi Chandaran, Dinishwaran, Thinesh Kumar, Vishwanath and Nimalan, pleaded not guilty to the charge of killing Kevin Morais on the way from Jalan Dutamas 1, Sentul to No 1 Jalan USJ 1/6D, Subang Jaya, between 7 am and 8 pm on Sept 4, 2015.
The charge, under Section 302 of the Penal Code and read together with Section 34 of the same law, carries the mandatory death sentence, upon conviction.
In today’s proceeding, Dr Kunaseegaran was represented by lawyer Jay Moy Wei Jiun.
The hearing before Judge Datuk Azman Abdullah continues today. — Bernama