KUALA LUMPUR: The long-awaited justice sought by Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais's family finally arrived today when the High Court here sentenced the murderers to the gallows.
The six accused – Army pathologist Colonel Dr R. Kunaseegaran, 55; R. Dinishwaran, 26; A.K Thinesh Kumar, 25; M. Vishwanath, 28; S. Nimalan 25; and S. Ravi Chandaran, 47; were found guilty of killing Morais on Sept 4, five years ago.
There was an audible sigh of relief from the gallery when High Court judge Datuk Azman Abdullah meted out the sentence.
Among those who were relieved by the sentence was Datuk Richard Morais, the elder brother of the murdered deputy public prosecutor (DPP); and his fellow comrades present during the proceedings.
Richard, who arrived as early as 3pm, sat calmly in the packed public gallery together with the accused's family members, who were also present, awaiting the decision.
Richard, clad in a black and white shirt, could not hold back his tears as he calmly walked into the courtroom.
Azman, in his judgement, said the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case.
"The court finds the (defence) has not succeeded in raising reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case," he said.
Richard, when met after the proceedings, said he was happy with the decision, adding that the prosecution team had done a tremendous job in prosecuting the case.
"I have waited for a very long time to seek justice for my brother… It was crazy.
"Now, I am very relieved that all the accused will face the gallows," he said.
Some of the accused's family members wept as the decision was announced.
The accused, meanwhile, seemed calm in the dock before they were chained together and ushered out of the courtroom after the proceedings.
Deputy public prosecutors Saiful Edris Zainuddin and Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin prosecuted the case.
Saiful Edris, when met, said he was happy with the decision as he knew Morais personally, since the former was a magistrate in Perak.
"I feel a little bit emotional, as I had a very good relationship with Morais.
"Everybody seems to forget about this case and focus on other high profile cases… I am here too in solidarity with my friend who lost his life," he said.
A total of 70 prosecution witnesses and 14 defence witnesses, including all the accused, took the stand to testify in the trial which began on April 6, 2016.
All the accused were ordered to enter their defence on Nov 17, 2017.
On Sept 4, 2015, Morais was abducted by several men following a fender bender along Jalan Dutamas Raya Sentul and taken to No. 1 Jalan USJ1/6D, Subang Jaya.
Closed-circuit television footage showed that Morais was grabbed by the accused after he came out of his car to inspect the damage.
On the following day, Richard lodged a missing person's report after he failed to contact his brother and the latter had not reported for work.
Several days later, police found a burnt-out Proton Perdana, with its chassis and engine numbers erased, in a plantation near Hutan Melintang in Perak.
On Sept 16, 2015, Morais's body was found in a drum filled with cement in Subang Jaya, Selangor after one of the seven suspects brought police to the location at Taman Perumahan USJ 1, Persiaran Subang Mewah.