GEORGE TOWN: Five men, accused of murdering T. Nhaveen, were acquitted and discharged by the High Court here today, without their defence being called.
The verdict came more than six years after they were first charged with the offence back in June 2017.
The trial proper only began in May 2021 following numerous postponements over paperwork.
The Nhaveen murder case garnered attention on social media back then, with Malaysians expressing an outpouring of sympathy towards him and his family.
High Court Judge Radzi Hamid, in acquitting the five, said the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the five.
"Based on the evidence adduced, the court found that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the five.
"As such, the court acquits and discharges all of you," he told the five men who immediately had their handcuffs removed by the court police.
At the public gallery, their family members were seen shedding tears of joy and offering thanks for their release.
The five were brothers S. Gopinaath, 32, and S. Gokulan, 24, as well as J. Ragesuthan, 24, and two other unnamed persons who were juveniles when the offence took place.
They were charged with committing the offence at Pusat Pembelajaran Karpal Singh in Jalan Kaki Bukit here between 11pm and 12am on June 9, 2017.
At the time of the offence, Nhaveen was 18 years old.
They were also charged with committing a grievous assault on Nhaveen's friend, T. Previin, near the Karpal Singh Learning Centre in Bukit Gelugor that night.
Previin was 19 years old then.
Gopinaath was initially not considered a suspect. He was charged midway through the trial in December 2021.
A total of 16 prosecution witnesses were called to testify.
Radzi, in his ground of judgment, ruled that the prosecution could not determine for sure that Nhaveen had indeed died as a result of "blunt force trauma to the head" as stated in the post-mortem report following an attack on him or due to an existing illness.
He said the doctor treating him directly was not called to testify.
"The failure to call the doctor concerned led to uncertainty if the blunt force trauma had directly led to his death.
"Also, it could not be ascertained as to whether the necessary assistance had been given to save him," he said.
Radzi said the testimony given by Previin, the main and only direct witness in this case, was also not credible, contradictory and cast serious doubts.
He said what Previin said when giving his statement to police soon after the incident and a police report he lodged four years later was filled with contradictions.
"Four years is such a long time. If indeed he was close to Nhaveen, which he had so claimed, he should have acted sooner and not waited for four years.
"What he testified does not prove that the five accused had intended to kill Nhaveen when he alleged that there were more than 20 people at the scene. He also could not say for sure where the attack occurred.
"Due to his lack of credibility, his testimony is rejected and cannot be used as evidence in this case," he added, noting that the facts and evidence presented for the assault case similarly could not be accepted.
As such, Radzi acquitted and discharged them from a second charge of voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons on Previin.
In his ground of judgment, Radzi also said that the police had failed to conduct investigations into these cases fairly.
He said the prosecution had also failed to call in other corroborating witnesses to support Previin's testimony in court.
The five men were respectively represented by Datuk Naran Singh, Manveer Singh Dhillon and S.Yagoo, while Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Azhar Hamzah prosecuted.
Sukhindarpal Singh held a watching brief for the Bar Council.
Lead defence counsel Datuk Ranjit Singh Dhillon died of a heart-related ailment mid-trial in March last year.