Two star witnesses of a high-profile case involving the death of a 17-year-old boy have gone missing, prompting the court to delay the trial for another month.
Witnesses T Previin and D Karunagaran did not turn up at the George Town High Court today for the trial of T Nhaveen, the youth who died of brain injury in 2017 after being beaten up by several others. The prosecution told the judge that both witnesses were nowhere to be found and had not responded to phone calls.
Judicial commissioner Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid rescheduled the trial to take place Aug 5 and 6, telling the prosecutors to do all they can to make sure their witnesses attend court hearings and not let it affect the trial.
“We really want to uphold justice for the deceased and we are pursuing this case urgently,” Penang prosecution director Khairul Anuar Abdul Halim said in court today.
Twelve people are expected to testify in the trial, which began in May with two hearings before it got postponed due to the Movement Control Order. Previin and Karunagaran, who is the uncle of the deceased, were named key witnesses that month. However, a subpoena could not be served to them at their last known addresses, according to deputy public prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari
Previin is believed to be in Kuala Lumpur with activist Arun Dorasamy amid fears of threats from third parties, according to a local news report.
Both Nhaveen and Previin were beaten by a group of people on the night of June 19, 2017 near the Karpal Singh Learning Centre at Jalan Kaki Bukit in Gelugor. Previin survived and fled while his bestfriend was left behind and later died of brain injury. Police arrested the three men for criminal intimidation and offered to protect Previin but he declined.
Murder suspects have been identified as J Ragesuthan and S Gokulan, both 22, as well as two juveniles. They have been detained at the Sungai Petani Juvenile Prison.
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