Wednesday, 31 July 2013

Wives and lawyers cause a stir

KUALA LUMPUR: There were tears and shouts outside a magistrate’s court here after Insp S. Hare Krishnan was charged in connection with the death of N. Dhamendran while in custody.

Dhamendran’s distraught widow Marry Mariya Susay shouted outside the courtroom, asking why it took over two months for the accused to break his silence.

“I don’t believe him now. Why didn’t he say anything earlier?

I hope he starts talking at the next mention. I will wait for Aug 2 and see what happens,” she said.

Moments before, Insp Hare Krishnan’s wife Shaarmini Balakrishnan, who had been maintaining her composure during court proceedings, burst into tears outside after her husband was taken away.

She continued sobbing and wiping her tears as she walked quickly away from the court, declining to talk to reporters.

The two women were not the only ones who caused a stir as an altercation occurred between counsel Latheefa Koya, who is holding a watching brief for Marry, and Insp Hare Krishnan’s counsel G. Sri Kumar outside the courtroom.

Latheefa alleged that police had known about the inspector’s whereabouts but had dragged their feet in producing him in court, while Sri Kumar refuted the claims that his client had absconded as he had lodged a police report proclaiming his innocence on June 1 and appointed a lawyer soon after.

Earlier in court, Insp S. Hare Krishnan was charged with murdering Dhamendran on May 21 at the special investigations office at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters.

The offence under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

Insp Hare Krishna remained silent throughout the proceedings and merely nodded when magistrate Nur A’minahtul Mardiah Md Nor asked if he understood the charge.

Dhamendran was arrested on May 11 on suspicion of attempted murder involving firearms and remanded from May 12 until his death on May 21.

The post-mortem conducted at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital on May 22 showed that the cause of death was diffused soft tissue injuries due to multiple blunt force trauma.

DPP S. Nithia said the prosecution was awaiting the final post-mortem report and would be ready to prouce it in court on Friday.

Defence counsel S. Kavitha and G. Sri Kumar raised no objections.

Nur A’minahtul Mardiah then set Aug 2 for mention of the case.

Previously, three policemen, Sjn Jaffri Jaafar, Kpl Mohd Nahar Abd Rahman and Kpl Haswadi Zamri Sahari were charged with Dhamendran’s murder on June 15.

Insp Hare Krishnan surrendered at the Bukit Aman police headquarters on Monday after six weeks in hiding.

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