KUALA LUMPUR: The seventh accused in the murder of deputy public prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais in 2015 told the High Court today that the first accused, pathologist Colonel Dr R. Kunaseegaran, offered him RM1.5 million to plead guilty to the murder.
S. Ravichandran, 47, said Dr Kunaseegaran approached him several times while in prison to persuade him to plead guilty to the offence, saying that it was the only way they could be freed of the charges.
“On Dec 25, Dr. Kunaseegaran approached me and told me that the case was ‘not going their way’ and that he wanted me to plead guilty.
“I asked him why I would need to plead guilty, as I was not involved in his murder.
“He told me that he would hire a new lawyer to represent me at the Court of Appeal and he would bear all the costs.
“Dr. Kunaseegaran also told me that he would give me RM1.5 million and would take care of my family,” he said in the witness stand today.
Ravichandran said on Dec 29, Dr. Kunaseegaran and his lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan approached him again and tried to persuade him to plead guilty.
“Sevananthan told me that he would represent me at the Court of Appeal, as my current lawyer, V. Rajehgopal, does not have the expertise to carry this case.
“He said I would be freed in no time at the Court of Appeal, as there is no evidence linking (me to) this murder,” he said.
Ravichandran, S. Nimalan, 22; R. Dineshwaran, 23; A. K. Thinesh Kumar, 22; and M. Vishwanath, 25 were jointly charged with murdering Morais, 55, between 7am and 8pm on Sept 4, 2015, while the victim was on his way from Jalan Dutamas Raya Sentul to No. 1 Jalan USJ1/6D, Subang Jaya.
They face the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.
Dr. Kunaseegaran, 54, is charged with abetting in the murder of Morais.
Deputy public prosecutor Saiful Edris Zainuddin is prosecuting, while the accused are represented by counsels M. Manoharan, Rajehgopal and G. Sivakumar.
Morais’s body was found in a drum filled with concrete at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya, on Sept 16, 2015.
He was reported missing on Sept 4, 2015 and the last time he was seen alive was when he was leaving his condominium in Menara Duta to drive to his office in Putrajaya in a Proton Perdana with the registration number WA6264Q.
The trial will continue on Aug 30 before judge Datuk Azman Abdullah.
