Saturday, 17 May 2025 07:00AM MYT
Court acquits 4 men, dismisses murder charge over ‘glaring contradictions’
The judge says the prosecution’s case was riddled with inconsistencies, from the time and location of the attack to the cause of death itself.
SHAH ALAM – Four men accused of murdering a 33-year-old man in Gombak in 2019 have been acquitted by the High Court which ruled that the prosecution had failed to prove its case.
The accused – K Suresh, 33, V Gobinathan, 36, Abdul Malek Najeeb Deen, 36, and G Navinthiran, 30 – walked free after Justice Norsharidah Awang found “glaring contradictions” in the evidence against them.
“This ensures that the accused is not prejudiced by the legal process. The law stipulates that every distinct offence must be addressed in a separate charge and tried independently,” he said.
They had been charged with murdering D Saravan, 33, who was allegedly attacked near a river behind a restaurant called Anita’s Corner at around 10.30pm on July 30, 2019.
The prosecution called 20 witnesses, including four of the victim’s friends, who claimed they saw the attack and identified all four accused.
“The accused must be clearly notified of each alleged offence, with sufficient time to prepare a defence,” he said.
One of the accused, Abdul Malek, was said to have slashed Saravan with a weapon.
Justice Norsharidah ruled that the prosecution’s case was riddled with inconsistencies, from the time and location of the attack to the cause of death itself.
Justice Norsharidah said there was also another major discrepancy about where the incident took place. She said witnesses claimed it happened behind the eatery, while the investigating officer’s report showed that the fight occurred in front of the Batu Caves temple.
She also highlighted inconsistencies in the cause of death, with the post-mortem report stating it was due to multiple slash wounds while a medical report listed heart failure (acute myocardial infarction) and severe sepsis.
Justice Norsharidah also dismissed the credibility of the eyewitnesses, who had claimed they could clearly see the accused despite it being late at night.
She said when she saw the photographs of the crime scene, she found the area was so dark that even the investigating officer confirmed it was impossible to identify anyone.
She then acquitted all four men without their defence being called.
Deputy public prosecutor Norhashimah Hashim prosecuted, while lawyers Geethan Ram Vincent, Eu Kah Mun and Gabriel Susayan represented the accused.