KUALA LUMPUR: Textile mogul Pavitar Singh Manjeet Singh was charged at the Sessions Court here with abetting in causing grievous hurt to a former judge last month.
The 54-year-old owner of Gulati's silk house, however, pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to him before judge Siti Aminah Ghazali today.
Pavitar, with his hands cuffed, arrived at the courtroom at about 10.45am accompanied by his wife and son.
According to the charge, the accused had allegedly abetted Muhammad Shahrulnizam Mohd Maimun and Muhammad Asyraf Sharin to cause serious injuries to Datuk Jagjit Singh Bant Singh using a screwdriver at about 12.50pm near Solaris Dutamas on Oct 19 this year.
The offence falls under Section 109 read together with Section 326 of the Penal Code which is punishable by a prison sentence of up to 20 years and subject to a fine or whipping as well, upon conviction.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Noorhani Muhmmed Ayub while prosecuting asked no bail be offered to the accused as the offence is a non-bailable one.
However, she said if the court wanted to offer bail, it should be RM100,000.
Counsel Jeremy Vinesh Anthony who appeared for the accused, pleaded for minimum bail by stating that his client is the sole breadwinner for his family.
"My client is also a chairman of a gurdwara sahib in Titiwangsa... so he is not a flight risk.
"This is also his first time being brought to court to face criminal charges," he said.
The court set RM25,000 with one surety and fixed Dec 5 for next mention.
The New Straits Times today reported a tycoon has been arrested after a family dispute he was involved in took a violent turn.
The businessman allegedly masterminded a brutal attack on two lawyers at their office on Oct 19.
The attack, believed to have stemmed from the family feud, saw the lawyers being ambushed by two assailants, who had entered the law office at Publika shopping centre here on the pretext of seeking legal representation.
The two assailants allegedly attacked the former judge and his associate with screwdrivers, stabbing their victims and causing one of them to suffer a shoulder fracture.
The former judge's associate, 31, suffered stab wounds to his head, cheek, palms and the back of his left hand.
The assailants, Muhammad Asyraf Sharin and Muhammad Shahrulnizam Mohd Maimun, were charged with the crime on Oct 25, to which they pleaded guilty before Sessions judge Datuk Nu'aman Mahmud Zuhudi.
They were each sentenced to four years' jail and a stroke of the rotan.
The former judge, in his statement, initially said he and his partner did not know the assailants, but later told investigators that he suspected his tycoon brother-in-law could have played a role.