MAN SENT TO GALLOWS

Two years on, accused found guilty of killing brother

DAWN CHAN

SHAH ALAM news@nst.com.my The sentence is a closure for us.

M. LETCHUMANAN

Brother of accused

THE wife of a murder victim shed tears of joy when the man accused of killing her husband two years ago was sentenced to death by the High Court here yesterday.

The accused, M. Nageswaran, 41, is an air-conditioning subcontractor from Jalan Kota Raja, Klang. He is also the woman’s brother-in-law.

He was charged with murdering his brother, M. Gunalan, 37, at 16C, Lot 1592, Batu 3 1/2, Kampung Jawa in Klang at 5.30pm on May 5, 2015.

The woman, who declined to be named, said she was happy that justice had been served.

“I have been waiting for two years and five months for this day. God has finally answered my prayers.

“I was married to my late husband for only three years and 10 months when he was murdered.

“I am dumbfounded how the accused could kill his own sibling over a property tussle.”

Nageswaran’s older sibling, M. Letchumanan, 52, said his brother was “better off dead”.

“I am heartbroken over the incident and it has affected our family very much. The sentence is a closure for us.”

High Court judge Datuk Zulkifli Bakar handed down the death sentence on Nageswaran after ruling that the defence had failed to raise a reasonable doubt.

In his judgment, Zulkifli said he found that Nageswaran’s defence was a denial.

“In his defence, he had accused his brother’s wife, the 10th witness, of killing the victim. After taking into consideration all aspects of the witnesses’ statements, the court has found that the accused’s defence was an afterthought that could not be accepted. Therefore, the sentence provided under this section (Section 302 of the Penal Code) is for the accused to be sentenced to death by hanging.”

Fifteen prosecution witnesses and one defence witness testified during the trial.

Nageswaran was calm when the sentence was meted out.