Morais murder trial: All his nails missing from body, court told
THE STAR
KUALA LUMPUR: Another missing piece in the murder trial of Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais was revealed to the High Court - all his nails were missing.
Forensics expert Nurliza Abdullah, 51, said during autopsy, the finger nails and toe nails of the deceased could not be located.
She suggested that the nails could have fallen off due to the moderate degree of decomposition of the corpse.
Morais, who was reported missing on Sept 4 last year, was found 12 days later in a cemented oil drum which was dumped in a pool near Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya.
Defence lawyer Datuk Geethan Ram Vincent questioned how, despite the body being found inside a plastic gunny sack, inside the drum - could the nails go missing.
He added that the deceased was also found fully clothed, with his socks still on.
"Could the deceased have decomposed elsewhere before he was placed into the drum, thus explaining the missing nails?" said Geethan Ram, during cross examination.
Nurliza could not give a reason for the missing nails, though she was sure that the body had not been moved and only started decomposing inside the drum.
On Tuesday, she testified that Morais was dead before being placed in the drum, based on the lack of signs of struggle plus the abnormal foetal position the body was found in.
Geethan Ram suggested the fact Nurliza could not find the nails nor give a good reason for their disappearance raised the question if she was unobservant.
Nurliza disagreed, saying she and the assisting forensic expert had gone over the evidence thoroughly, despite the gunny sack the body was found in being caked in decomposed flesh and dirt.
On Jan 27, the six men - G. Gunasekaran, 48; R. Dinishwaran, 24; A. K. Thinesh Kumar, 23; M. Vishwanath, 26; Nimalan, 23; and Ravi Chandaran, 35, claimed trial to charges of murdering Morais.
They are accused of committing the offence between 7am and 8pm on Sept 4, 2015, between Jalan Dutamas Raya Sentul and No. 1 Jalan USJ1/6D, Subang Jaya.
Army pathologist Colonel Dr R. Kunaseegaran, 53, pleaded not guilty to abetting the six in the murder.
They face the mandatory death penalty if convicted, under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Counsel Datuk N. Sivananthan and Geethan Ram acted for Kunaseegaran, counsel V. Rajehgopal defended Gunasekaran, Vishwanath, Nimalan and Ravi Chandaran, while lawyer M. Manoharan acted for Dinishwaran and Thinesh Kumar.
The trial before Justice Azman Abdullah continues Friday.
