Prosecution wants Gobind excluded as counsel

KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution in the case involving two 16year-old boys charged with murdering 21 students and two teachers of the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah religious school will file a notice of preliminary objection to the court to have lawyers from Gobind Singh Deo & Co excluded or prohibited from representing both the accused.

Kuala Lumpur prosecution director Othman Abdullah told the court yesterday that the notice would be filed this week.

He said this when the case was mentioned before High Court Justice Datuk Azman Abdullah.

However, lawyer Gobind Singh Deo said they had yet to receive any application from the prosecution concerning the preliminary objection.

“So far, there is no application filed by the prosecution and we don’t know the grounds stated in the application.”

Azman set March 14 for clarification and additional submissions on the preliminary objection.

On Jan 30, the prosecution submitted verbally to court the preliminary objection to have lawyers from Gobind Singh Deo & Co excluded or prohibited from representing both the accused, on the grounds that the law firm was representing two other accused in the trial at the magistrate’s court, and that the two accused would also appear as key witnesses in this case, hence, the defence would have access to what would be used in the trial.

The two teenagers were charged with murdering and causing the death of 23 occupants of the religious school’s hostel in Kampung Datuk Keramat here between 4.15am and 6.45am on Sept 14 last year.

The charge, under Section 302 of the Penal Code, provides for a mandatory death penalty upon conviction. However, Section 97 (1) of the Child Act 2001 states the death penalty cannot be imposed on children under 18.