2 pekerja Pathma dipenjara 7 tahun

KUALA LANGAT 15 Okt. - Pada hari rakyat Malaysia meraikan Hari Kemerdekaan Ke-53, mayat jutawan kosmetik, Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya dan tiga rakannya disusun di atas longgokan kayu dan dibakar sebelum abu mayat mereka dimasukkan ke dalam sebuah tong biru serta dibuang ke dalam Sungai Panchau di sini.

Perkara itu dilakukan semata-mata ingin melindungi majikan mereka yang juga seorang peguam, N. Pathmanabhan, 41, dan tiga lagi pekerja ladang, T. Thilaiyalagan, 19; R. Matan, 20; dan R. Kathavarayan, 30, daripada dikenakan tindakan undang-undang.

Bagaimanapun, pada Rabu lalu, kesemua lelaki tersebut didakwa di Mahkamah Majistret Telok Datok di sini atas tuduhan membunuh pengasas kosmetik Nouvelles Visage itu, pemandu Sosilawati, Kamarudin Shamsudin, 47; peguam, Ahmad Kamil Abd. Karim, 32; dan pegawai Bank CIMB cawangan Kampung Baru, Norhisham Mohammad, 38.

Jika disabitkan kesalahan, kesemua tertuduh itu boleh dikenakan hukuman mati mandatori.

Hari ini, fakta ngeri kes pembunuhan kesemua mangsa itu diakui sendiri oleh dua lagi pekerja ladang milik peguam itu yang 'ditugaskan' untuk menyusun mayat-mayat mangsa atas longgokan kayu, membawa minyak petrol dan diesel untuk membakar mayat serta membuang abu mayat ke dalam sungai.

Fakta kes itu dibacakan oleh jurubahasa sejurus selepas tertuduh- tertuduh, K. Sarawanan, 19, dan U. Suresh, 26, mengaku bersalah atas empat pertuduhan setiap seorang pada prosiding di mahkamah majistret yang sama hari ini.

Majistret Hurman Hussain kemudian menjatuhkan hukuman penjara tujuh tahun bagi setiap pertuduhan ke atas kedua-dua tertuduh berkuat kuasa dari tarikh tangkapan iaitu pada 9 September lalu.

Hukuman pemenjaraan itu bagaimanapun diperintahkan berjalan secara serentak.

Kedua-dua tertuduh juga memohon maaf kepada kesemua keluarga mangsa atas penglibatan mereka dalam pembunuhan ngeri itu.

Terdahulu, sebelum kedua-dua tertuduh dijatuhkan hukuman, mereka dibawa ke luar mahkamah bagi mengecam sebuah kenderaan pacuan empat roda, Isuzu D-Max bernombor pendaftaran WSF 8070 yang digunakan untuk mengangkut tong yang berisi abu mayat mangsa-mangsa sebelum dibuang ke dalam sungai.

Mengikut pertuduhan, Sarawanan yang sebelum ini pernah bekerja sebagai seorang mekanik motosikal didakwa atas empat pertuduhan membakar mayat semua mangsa antara pukul 9.45 malam dan 12 tengah malam, 30 Ogos lalu di ladang Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjung Layang, Tanjung Sepat dekat sini.

Suresh yang turut didakwa atas empat pertuduhan dituduh telah melupuskan bukti pembunuhan kejam itu dengan sengaja membuang abu mayat kesemua mangsa ke dalam Sungai Panchau, Jalan Morib di sini kira-kira pukul 8 dan 10 pagi, 31 Ogos lalu.

Pertuduhan ke atas mereka dibuat mengikut Seksyen 201 Kanun Keseksaan yang memperuntukkan hukuman maksimum tujuh tahun dan boleh dikenakan denda.

Pada prosiding hari ini, pihak pendakwaan diketuai oleh Timbalan Pendakwa Raya, Ishak Mohd. Yusof dan dibantu oleh dua Timbalan Pendakwa Raya, Saiful Edris Zainuddin dan Idham Abd. Ghani.

Kedua-dua tertuduh pula diwakili peguam-peguam bela, M. Puravelan, Roslie Sulle dan Muhammad Naquib Abdul Razak.

Selepas mahkamah menjatuhkan hukuman, Ishak memohon agar Suresh dan Sarawanan yang bakal menjadi saksi utama dalam perbicaraan kes pembunuhan kejam itu ditempatkan di penjara yang berbeza daripada empat tertuduh sebelum ini bagi menjamin keselamatan mereka.

Duo jailed for destroying evidence

BANTING: Two men were jailed a total of 28 years each after they pleaded guilty to four counts of disposing of evidence in relation to the murder of cosmetics queen Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.

However, the duo - K. Sarawanan, 19, and U. Suresh, 26 - will only serve a total of seven years in jail, the maximum jail sentence for such an offence, after the court ordered the sentences to be run concurrently.

Before passing sentence, magistrate Hurman Hussain commented that although there was no evidence linking them to the murders, “a heinous crime is still a heinous crime.”

Sarawanan, a motorcycle mechanic, was charged with burning the bodies of Sosilawati, 47, CIMB Bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abd Karim, 32, and driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, knowing that they had been murder victims.

He committed the offence at Lot 2001, Jln Tanjung Layang, Tanjung Sepat, here, between 9.45pm and 12am, on Aug 30. Suresh, an odd-job worker, was charged with intentionally disposing of the ashes of the four victims into Sg Panchau here between 8am and 10am on Aug 31.

They were accused of doing so with the intention of preventing lawyer N. Pathmanabhan, 41, as well as farm workers T. Thilaiyalagan, 19, R. Matan, 20, and R. Khatavarayan, 30, from facing legal action, an offence under Section 201 of the Penal Code.

The four were charged on Wed­nesday with murdering Sosilawati, Noorhisham, Ahmad Kamil and Kamaruddin.

All six accused were among eight arrested by police between Sept 9 and 12 in connection with the murders.The prosecution was led by DPP Ishak Mohd Yusoff, Saiful Edris Zainudin and Idham Abd Ghani, while M. Puravelan, Muhammad Naguib Abdul Razak, and Roslie Sulle stood as counsel for the two accused.

According to the facts of the case, after witnessing the alleged murders, Sarawanan was instructed by Thilaiyalagan and Matan to hand petrol and diesel over to them, and together they placed the victims’ bodies on top of a pile of wood.

He then piled more wood on top of the bodies before pouring petrol and diesel and lighting the fire.

Suresh witnessed Thilaiyalagan and Matan collecting something from the ground at the farm and putting it into barrels.

When he asked the two what was in the barrel, they replied that it was the ashes of the four victims, who had been murdered and burned the night before.

He then saw Kathavarayan drive an Isuzu D-Max vehicle to where they were. They loaded the barrels into the vehicle and proceeded to Sg Panchau where they threw the barrels into the river.

After that was done, he and Thilaiyalagan cleaned the site of the burning before going back to their usual work on the farm.

Prior to sentencing, Ishak told the court that the prosecution would be calling them as witnesses, and sought an order from the court to keep them separated from the other accused in this case.

4 suspek dihadap ke mahkamah hari ini

KUALA LUMPUR 12 Okt. - Dua peguam adik-beradik dan dua suspek lain yang sebelum ini ditahan berhubung kes pembunuhan jutawan kosmetik, Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya dan tiga yang lain akan dihadapkan ke Mahkamah Majistret di Banting, pagi esok.

Peguam bagi dua beradik berkenaan, Ravi Nekoo ketika dihubungi mengesahkan perkara tersebut dan turut memaklumkan akan membuat permohonan agar kes itu dipindahkan ke Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam.

"Mahkamah akan baca pertuduhan dan kemungkinan pihak pendakwa raya akan membuat permohonan bagi memindahkan kes itu ke Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam untuk perbicaraan," katanya ketika dihubungi Utusan Malaysia di sini, hari ini.

Ravi juga memaklumkan tidak mengetahui kedua-dua anak guamnya akan didakwa di bawah seksyen mana.

"Esok kita semua akan tahu keputusan mahkamah berhubung pendakwaan tersebut," katanya.

Sementara itu, Mahkamah Tinggi di sini hari ini menolak permohonan semakan yang difailkan oleh dua beradik yang kini berada dalam tahanan reman berhubung kes pembunuhan beberapa individu termasuk Sosilawati.

Ravi dalam satu kenyataan yang dihantar kepada pihak media memberitahu, semakan yang baru difailkan semalam ditolak oleh Hakim Datuk Mohamad Zabidin Mohd. Diah tanpa mendengar hujahan daripada pihak-pihak terlibat.

''Permohonan itu ditolak oleh mahkamah tanpa mendengar hujah daripada mana-mana pihak. Pihak kami dimaklumkan mengenai perkara tersebut melalui faks yang dihantar oleh Penolong Kanan Pendaftar Mahkamah Tinggi, Haslina Basaruddin kira-kira pukul 11.50 pagi hari ini,'' katanya.

Beliau memberitahu, pihaknya akan memfailkan rayuan di Mahkamah Rayuan dalam masa terdekat berhubung keputusan tersebut.

''Kami berpendapat mahkamah seharusnya mendengar permohonan ini kerana ia membabitkan hak orang yang ditahan seperti yang diperuntukkan di bawah Seksyen 325(2) Kanun Tatacara Jenayah.

''Walaupun Seksyen 326 Kanun Tatacara Jenayah menyatakan bahawa hak untuk didengar bukanlah satu perkara yang automatik tetapi bagi individu yang ditahan, peruntukan ini tidak boleh diguna pakai,'' ujarnya.

Secara keseluruhan, kedua-dua suspek yang juga peguam telah direman dan dilanjutkan perintah tersebut sebanyak tiga kali sejak ditahan 11 September lalu bagi tiga kes berbeza iaitu Sosilawati dan tiga rakannya (14 hari), ahli perniagaan dari India, Allal Kanthan Muthuraja, 34, (12 hari) dan Mohd. Shafik serta Theravaraj (enam hari).

Perintah reman itu juga dibuat secara berterusan antara satu sama lain sejak dua beradik itu mula ditahan pada Hari Raya Aidilfitri kedua yang lalu di premis beralamat No. 109, Jalan Cempaka, Taman Seri Teluk Datuk, Banting, Selangor.

Selain dua beradik itu, turut ditahan reman ialah dua orang wanita dan beberapa orang lagi dipercayai pekerja ladang salah seorang suspek serta terbaru, seorang gadis, Jesyntha Clarene Isreal yang menyerah diri selepas mengetahui dirinya sedang dicari oleh pihak polis.

Suspects of Banting murders charged

BANTING: One of the two lawyer brothers and three others suspects in the Banting murders were today charged at the Magistrate's Court for the murder of cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and her three associates.

Lawyer N. Pathmanabhan, 41, and three farm workers - T. Thilaiyalagan,19, R. Matan, 20 and R. Kathavarayan, 30 - were charged this morning under Section 302 of the Penal Code for jointly murdering, with intent, 47-year-old Sosilawati, her driver Kamaruddin Shamsudin, 44, her lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and 38-year-old CIMB Kampung Baru bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, who was also Sosilawati's financial advisor.

The four were charged with committing the offence on Aug 30 between 8.30pm to 9.45pm at Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjung Layang, Tanjung Sepat, Banting, Kuala Langat.

When the charge was read out, the four accused remained calm, impassive even, and merely nodded when asked if they understood the charge.

The charge carries the death penalty upon conviction. No plea was recorded.

Pathmanabhan was represented by counsels Ravi Nekoo, Pushpa Ratnam, Amir Hamzah Arshad and Ng See Teong while the other three accused were unrepresented, as Amir Hamzah told the court their families had not been informed of their detention.

This was refuted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Saiful Edris Zainuddin, who said as far as he knew, the families have been informed.

Amir Hamzah said: "I would also request for the prosecution team to inform the investigating officer to inform the families of the three other suspects about their charge today."

Besides Saiful Edris, the prosecution team also comprises DPPs Ishak Mohd Yusoff and Idham Abd Ghani.

Magistrate Hurman Hussain set Dec 16 for the next mention to await the report from the Department of Chemistry.

The courtroom was packed with reporters and onlookers, as the gruesome case had generated national interest.

It was learnt no family members of any of the suspects were in court this morning.

Sosilawati was reported missing last Aug 30 after reportedly going to Banting for a land deal. The founder of Nouvelle Visages cosmetics and ex-wife of rocker Nash, had told one of her daughters that she was going to Banting for three days, and was said to be carrying a large amount of cash.

It was reported she was last seen buying Raya cookies at a shop in Kampung Sungai Lan, Banting on Sept 2.
During investigations, police said the victims were bludgeoned to death, set ablaze and had their ashes, including small bone fragments, scattered in a river near Ladang Gadong in Tanjong Sepat, near Banting.

The main lawyer accused and his brother, also a lawyer, were apparently acting as brokers for Sosilawati in the land purchase in Penang worth millions of ringgit.

Six people, including two women and farmhands, have been arrested together with the lawyer and his brother in connection with the killings.

The two lawyer brothers were also reportedly being investigated for the disappearances and murders of several individuals - Indian businessman A.K. Muthuraja, 34, Sungai Petani businessman Mohd Shafik Abdullah, 37 and his friend S. Thevaraj, 28, businessman S. Anpalagan, 43, and housewife T. Selvi, 44.

It was further reported that several police reports had been lodged against the two lawyer brothers since 2005 over allegations of fraud in land transactions and criminal breach of trust, which allegedly resulted in losses amounting to RM7.1 million to the alleged victims.

Meanwhile, the remand order for the second lawyer brother ends on Oct 15, together with four others.

Banting murders: Lawyer, three others charged

BANTING: Lawyer N. Pathmanabhan, 41, and three others were jointly charged Wednesday with the murders of cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.

They were charged before Magistrate Hurman Hussain. The charge against Pathmanabhan was read in Bahasa Malaysia while the charge against the rest was read in Tamil.

They were charged with the murder of Sosilawati, 47, CIMB Bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, personal lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abd Karim, 32 and driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44.

Others who were charged with Pathmanabhan were T. Thilaiyalagan, 19, R. Matan, 20, and R. Kathavarayan, 30.

The offence was allegedly committed at Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjung Layang, Tanjung Sepat, Banting between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30.

It was reported that the four had gone missing on Aug 30 after telling their families and friends that they were going to Banting to discuss a land deal.

More than a week later, police said they were murdered and burnt, and their ashes thrown into a river near a farm owned by Pathmanabhan.

The accused are also being probed for the murders and disappearance of several others, including Indian millionaire A. Muthuraja, 34, local businessmen Mohd Shafiq Abdullah, 37 and 44-year-old housewife T. Selvi.

No plea was recorded and the court fixed Dec 16 for mention of the case.

The accused were represented by Amer Hamzah Arshad and Ravi Nekoo while prosecution was by Deputy Public Prosecutors Ishak Mohd Yusoff (lead), Saiful Edris Zainudin and Idham Abd Ghani.