‘I can be dead after this testimony’

Morais murder accused tells court his evidence may cost him his life

KUALA LUMPUR: The seventh accused in the murder of deputy public prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais shocked the High Court when he said that his defence testimony might be his last as he could be dead after that.

S. Ravi Chandaran, 47, told the court this after taking his oath before High Court judge Justice Azman Abdullah as the sixth and last defence witness in the murder trial.

“I want to tell Your Honour, I don’t know whether I will still be alive after giving this testimony, it might be my last,” he said in Tamil.

Azman told Ravi Chandaran to continue with his testimony and to inform his lawyer about the matter. Ravi Chandaran complied.

To a question by lawyer V. Rajehgopal during examinationinchief, Ravi Chandaran told the court that he went to a condominium in Jalan Dutamas here on Sept 3, 2015, to accompany a friend, G. Gunasekaran, also known as “Jay”.

He said Jay told him that a “client” at the condominium had borrowed money and he wanted to collect the debt.

Ravi Chandaran told the court that he had this conversation at a restaurant in Petaling Jaya with four other men, namely his nephew S. Nimalan, R. Dinishwaran, A.K Thinesh Kumar and M. Vishwanath, who are also the accused in the case.

Ravi Chandaran said all of them then left for the condominium, with him in a Proton Perdana V6 driven by Jay, while the four others fol lowed in a Mitsubishi Triton.

“We arrived at the condominium, at 7am sharp,” he said.

Ravi Chandaran said they waited in the car for about 15 to 20 minutes and when the “client” did not appear, they left.

When asked by Rajehgopal whether the condominium was Kondominium Menara Duta in Jalan Dutamas Raya which was occupied by Morais and the one visited by Justice Azman, the prosecution and defence teams, including the accused last April 17, Ravi Chandaran said “yes”.

Dinishwaran, Thinesh Kumar, Vishwanath, Nimalan, Ravi Chandaran, and army doctor Kol Dr R. Kunaseegaran, 55, had pleaded not guilty to the charge of murdering Morais, 55, between 7am and 8pm on Sept 4, 2015, while the deputy public prosecutor was on his way from Jalan Dutamas 1 to Subang Jaya.

The hearing continues today.