MUAR: Two men acquitted and discharged from kidnapping charges
In a dramatic turn of events, two men walked out of the High Court in Muar as free men after being acquitted and discharged from a charge of kidnapping a man in front of his house six years ago.
The decision was made by High Court Judge Justice Halijah Abbas, who found that the prosecution had failed to prove a prima facie case against the accused: 34-year-old B. Haresh and 32-year-old M.J. Richarddas.
If convicted of the offence under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act 1961, both men could have faced a possible death sentence or life imprisonment and whipping.
During her judgement, Justice Halijah ruled that there were numerous gaps in the investigation of the case, coupled with non-credible statements made by the witnesses.
“I have carefully considered both sides’ statements and it is evident that there is a lack of information in the investigation, particularly in the statements made by the victim himself,” she said.
Justice Halijah added, “The victims have contradicted themselves, raising doubts about the case and making it difficult to identify whether both accused are the individuals involved.”
Consequently, she ruled in favor of acquitting and discharging both accused without requiring them to enter their defense.
The charge sheets stated that Haresh and Richarddas, who work as bus drivers in Singapore, allegedly kidnapped a 38-year-old man and demanded a ransom of RM130,000.
The offence was said to have taken place in front of a house in Jalan Orkid, Taman Orkid, Simpang Renggam, Kluang, at 6 am on June 29, 2017.
This charge was framed under Section 3(1) of the Kidnapping Act 1961, read with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which carries a potential punishment of death sentence, life imprisonment, or whipping upon conviction.
A total of 16 witnesses provided testimony throughout the proceedings of the case.
Deputy public prosecutors Muhammad Hidayat Wahab and Nor Syamilah Jalaluddin represented the prosecution, while the accused were represented by Fairuz Elias Majid, Datin Freeda Sabapathy, and K. Veeranesh Babu.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
