Two friends acquitted of murder charge
GEORGE TOWN: Two friends charged with the murder of a man in Bayan Baru, four years ago, escaped the gallows after the High Court here Monday acquitted and discharged them of the charge.
Judicial Commissioner Collin Lawrence Sequerah ordered B. Dharma Raj, 25 and A. Oliver, 26 to be released after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case.
Dharma Raj, a general worker and Oliver, a restaurant assistant were accused of murdering R. Navintharan, 24, at 3.40am at Krystal Point parking area in Bayan Baru on Jan 27, 2012.
They were jointly charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same Code.
In his judgment, Collin Lawrence said there were contradictions in the testimonies of the five prosecution witnesses on the presence of the two accused at the scene.
He said the defence had proven that there were many others who attacked the victim which resulted in his death.
The prosecution was conducted by deputy public prosecutor Siti Fatimah Talib while the first accused, Dharma Raj was represented by counsel Baldev Singh Dhar and the second accused, Oliver, was represented by counsel Dev Kumaraendran. - Bernama
