PUTRAJAYA – Four individuals charged with the murder of T. Nhaveen in Gelugor, Penang, eight years ago have been ordered to enter their defence by the Court of Appeal.
The three-judge panel, led by Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, alongside Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, unanimously ruled that the previous decision of the Georgetown High Court was flawed, Bulletin TV3 reported.
The accused, J. Ragesuthen, V. Sharmah, S. Gokulan, and K. Tatisan, will remain in custody and face retrial at the same High Court.
Meanwhile, one other defendant, S. Gopinath, will continue to be acquitted, as the court upheld the previous ruling.
During the proceedings, Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima remarked that the prosecution’s arguments were valid.
“Based on the arguments, there was an error in the High Court’s findings regarding Nhaveen’s death,” he said.
“After evaluating the evidence presented by the prosecution, there is sufficient prima facie evidence to support appeals one and two.”
“As such, defendants one to three are ordered to enter their defence. For the fourth defendant, a remand order is issued while the case continues at the High Court,” he added.
Regarding the fifth defendant, the court unanimously concluded that there was prejudice from the witness testimony, and thus, the acquittal decision remains in force.
In October 2023, the Georgetown High Court acquitted and discharged five men from charges of murdering and assaulting bullying victim Nhaveen eight years ago.
At that time, Judge Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid cleared S. Gopinath, J. Ragesuthen, and S. Gokulan, as well as two others who were minors at the time of the incident, after determining that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case at the end of the prosecution’s case.
For the record, on June 19, 2017, the five friends were charged in court with the murder of Nhaveen near the Karpal Singh Learning Centre, Bukit Gelugor, between 11pm and midnight on June 9, 2017.
Nhaveen, 18 at the time, suffered severe injuries after being assaulted by a group of teenagers on Jalan Kaki Bukit, resulting in a fatal brain injury and additional injuries to his anal region.
His friend, Preevin, was also reportedly assaulted by the same group using helmets but managed to escape and seek help.
The charges under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read with Section 34 of the Penal Code, carry the death penalty upon conviction.
Additionally, the accused faced charges of causing grievous harm to Nhaveen under Section 326 of the Penal Code. – January 13, 2025