PUTRAJAYA
Shankar A/L Manirajoo breathed a visible sigh of relief as the Court of Appeal here today overturned his conviction for murder and subsequent death sentence.
In 2016, Shankar was charged alongside two others for the murder of Kathiravan A/L Ayasamy.
It was alleged that the then 23-year-old victim was murdered by the trio using a parang on March 13, 2015, between the hours of 3pm and 3.30pm. Interestingly, they allegedly used the parang in an unconventional method by whacking the victim with the handle rather than using the blade.
They were jointly charged for murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death penalty if convicted.
On March 29, 2018 the High Court Judge ruled that the Prosecution had succeed in proving a prima facie case against Shankar and called on him to enter his defence. On the other hand, his other two co-accused were acquitted at the Prosecution stage.
Shankar was subsequently convicted by the High Court of Melaka after no reasonable doubt was found to have been raised by his defense.
He appealed to the Court of Appeal where the issue of identification and material contradictions in the testimony of Prosecution witnesses during trial were raised.