PUTRAJAYA, March 13 — The Federal Court was told that there was no evidence linking former pathologist Col R Kunaseegaran to the murder of former deputy public prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais, as he was not present at the crime scene.

Kunaseegaran’s counsel, Datuk N Sivananthan, further contended that the prosecution had failed to establish that his client shared a common intention with the other five accused in Morais’s murder.

He also argued that the testimony of a former co-accused, who later turned prosecution witness and implicated Kunaseegaran, was merely a speculative theory regarding motive.

Additionally, he submitted that the evidence given by the 54th prosecution witness, G Gunasekaran, was unreliable and should be disregarded by the court.

During the trial, Gunasekaran had alleged that Kunaseegaran had a dispute with Morais and that Morais’s vehicle was deliberately rammed by a four-wheel-drive.

Gunasekaran was initially charged alongside six others for Morais’s murder. However, the charge was later withdrawn after he pleaded guilty in the Sessions Court to disposing of Morais’s body.

He was subsequently sentenced to two years imprisonment, commencing from the date of his arrest on September 15, 2015, and was later called as a prosecution witness.

At today’s hearing, Sivananthan, assisted by Jasmine Cheong, further argued that there was no evidence of any planning or instructions between Kunaseegaran and co-accused S Ravi Chandaran to murder Morais.

The hearing is the final appeals of six individuals, including Kunaseegaran, 61, who were convicted of Morais’s murder and sentenced to death.

The other five convicted are moneylender Ravi Chandaran, 54, and four unemployed men, R Dinishwaran, 32; A K Thinesh Kumar, 31; M Vishwanath, 34; and S Nimalan, 31.

All six were sentenced to death by the High Court in 2020, and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision in March last year.

The offence occurred between 7.00am and 8.00pm on September 4, 2015, at locations along Jalan Dutamas Raya, Sentul, and No. 1, Jalan USJ 1/6D, Subang Jaya.

Morais, 55, was reported missing on the same day after he was last seen leaving his apartment at Menara Duta, Kuala Lumpur, in a Proton Perdana.

His body was discovered on September 16, 2015, encased in cement inside an oil drum at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya.

A three-judge panel comprising Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim, and Federal Court Judge Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang is presiding over the appeals.

Meanwhile, counsel representing the five co-accused contended that the evidence was insufficient to link their clients to Morais’s murder, with some arguing that their clients should instead face charges for abduction or wrongful confinement.

The five co-accused are represented by Y Sheelan Samuagam (Dinishwaran), Burhanudeen Abdul Wahid (Thinesh Kumar), Affifuddin Ahmad Hafifi (Vishwanath), Amer Hamzah Arshad (Nimalan), and Kitson Foong (Ravi Chandran).

The court has fixed April 24 for the prosecution, led by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Yusaini Amer Abdul Karim, to present its submissions. — Bernama