PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal here today upheld the High Court's decision to impose the death penalty on six men convicted of murdering deputy public prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais nine years ago.
The men who were charged are former pathologist, Colonel Dr R Kunaseegaran, 61; moneylender, S Ravi Chandran, 53; and four unemployed individuals, R Dinishwaran, 32; A K Thinesh Kumar, 31; M Vishwanath, 34; and S Nimalan, 31.
The three-judge panel chaired by Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, sitting with Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Datuk Azmi Ariffin, unanimously decided on the verdict.
Hadhariah said the prosecution had successfully proven that Kunaseegaran not only had a motive but was also the mastermind behind this murder.
"The testimony also indicates that this murder was carried out with Kunaseegaran giving instructions to Ravi Chandran, who in turn instructed Dinishwaran, Thinesh Kumar, Vishwanath, and Nimalan.
"The action of the accused deliberately damaging the deceased's car, kidnapping, and subsequently murdering him indicate that they had pre-planned the method of carrying out this murder.
"They knew where the deceased lived, what time he left his house, the route he took, how the murder was to be carried out, and how many people were needed to execute it," she said.
She said after reading the trial judge's grounds of judgment, the court found that the lower court had correctly concluded that that the defence's argument is a denial, a fabrication, and does not raise reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case.
"Regarding the sentence, we find that this murder was meticulously planned and the condition of the deceased's body when found indicates the brutality of the accused.
"Not content with just murdering the deceased, his car was also set on fire, and his personal belongings were discarded.
"This murder can be categorised as extraordinary compared to ordinary cases. Thus, in our opinion, the punishment commensurate with the crime committed is the death penalty," she added.
On July 10, 2020, all the men were sentenced to death by the High Court after being found guilty of killing Kevin Morais.
In his decision, High Court judge Datuk Azman Abdullah, now a Court of Appeal judge, had held that all the six men had common intention to kill Morais.
He had said the defence failed to raise any reasonable doubt as to the six men's involvement in the murder.
A total of 70 prosecution witnesses and 14 defence witnesses, including all the accused, testified in the trial which started on April 6, 2016.
The six then filed their notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal on July 13, three years ago.
They were accused of murdering Kevin Morais, 55, at a location along Jalan Dutamas Raya Sentul and Jalan USJ 1/6D, Subang Jaya between 7am and pm on Sept 4, 2015.
The prosecution proceeded under Section 302 of the Penal Code (PC) read together with Section 34 of the PC, which provides for a mandatory death penalty upon conviction.
Morais was reported missing on the mentioned date and was last seen leaving a condominium driving a Proton Perdana car from Menara Duta, Kuala Lumpur, to his office at the Attorney-General's Chambers in Putrajaya.
His body was found in a cement-filled drum along Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya, in the same year, on Sept 16.