Accused refuses to testify, trial postponed

KUALA LUMPUR: The murder trial of deputy public prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais was disrupted and had to be postponed after the accused refused to testify.

S. Ravi Chandaran, 47, said he was not in the right frame of mind to testify as he was kept in a separate cell occupied by foreigners who disturbed his sleep.

Lawyer V. Rajehgopal told the court that Ravi, who was the seventh witness in the trial, which entered its 16th day at the High Court here yesterday, had not slept the whole night.

When judge Datuk Azman Abdullah told the lawyer to continue his questioning and not delay proceedings, Ravi refused to continue testifying.

“I have not eaten since the time I was taken back to prison yesterday. I really can’t testify because my mind is disturbed from no food and lack of sleep,” he told the court translator in Tamil.

Azman said his powers did not extend to the management of prisons and that the accused was probably kept separately as he had told the court that his life was in danger. The trial resumes today. On Wednesday, Ravi had implied that his life was in danger and his testimony in court would be his last.

Morais was reported missing on Sept 4, 2015.

He was seen leaving his apartment at Menara Duta here and driving away in a Proton Perdana with the registration number WA 6264Q.

His body was found inside a drum filled with concrete at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya near here, on Sept 16, 2015.