Nhaveen murder: Appeals Court orders four men to stand trial, overturns acquittal

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 13 — The Court of Appeal here today overturned the acquittal of four men charged with the murder of T. Nhaveen seven years ago.

The four individuals — J. Ragesuthan, 26, S. Gokulan, 26, and two individuals who were juveniles at the time of the incident — have been ordered to enter their defence in relation to the charge.

The three-judge panel comprising Justices Datuk Che Mohd Ruzima Ghazali, Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin, also ordered the four to enter their defence on a charge of causing grievous hurt to Nhaveen’s friend, T Previin, who was 19 years old then.

The appellate court had allowed the prosecution’s appeal to overturn the High Court’s decision.

In the court’s unanimous decision, Justice Che Mohd Ruzima said there was sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case against the four men.

Justice Che Mohd Ruzima, who led the panel, remitted the case back to the Penang High Court for the four men to enter their defence and ordered all four men to be remanded pending trial.

Meanwhile, the same panel upheld the acquittal of S. Gopinaath, 34, who had been charged in 2021, four years after the incident, while the trial was ongoing.

“We agree with Gopinaath’s counsel that prejudice had occurred against his client as he was only charged when a prosecution witness was testifying,” he said, adding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against Gopinaath.

The prosecution was appealing against the High Court’s decision in October 2023, that had acquitted and discharged the five of them for Nhaveen’s murder, without their defence being called.

They had been accused of murdering Nhaveen, then 18, at a park on Jalan Bunga Raya between 11pm and midnight on June 9, 2017.

As for the charge of causing grievous hurt to Previin, Ragesuthan, Gokulan, and two other individuals were accused of committing the offence near the Karpal Singh Learning Centre in Jalan Kaki Bukit, Gelugor, between 11pm and midnight on June 9, 2017.

According to the facts of the case, Nhaveen was beaten with a helmet. He was sent to the Penang General Hospital but he died six days later, on June 15, 2017.

In today’s proceeding at the Court of Appeal, Deputy Public Prosecutors Mohd Amril Johari and Yazid Mustaqim Roslan appeared for the prosecution, while lawyer Datuk Naran Singh appeared for Ragesuthen, Gokulan, Gobinaath and one of the juveniles. Lawyer Maanveer Singh Dhillon represented the other juvenile. — Bernama