A former female clerk and two others have been spared the death penalty by the Court of Appeal, which instead sentenced them to 35 years in jail for the abduction and murder of a company managing director whose body was disposed of over the Penang Second Bridge almost a decade ago.
The decision was made by a three-member panel led by Judge Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera on Tuesday (March 5), overturning the death sentence imposed by the Shah Alam High Court in 2018 on Sunil Singh, A. Malarvili (a woman), and C. Kavin Mukilan for the killing of 68-year-old Balveer Kaur.
Additionally, Sunil and Kavi Mukilan were ordered to receive 12 strokes of the cane for the murder charge and another three strokes for abduction. The total number of lashes to be administered is 15, with Malarvili exempted from corporal punishment due to laws prohibiting it for female offenders.
In his comprehensive ruling, Judge Vazeer noted that the defendants’ legal representatives had acknowledged the abduction but argued there was no ransom demand of RM2 million. Despite this, evidence indicated two phone calls were made shortly after the abduction, one of which was traced back to Malarvili.
The judge emphasized that the trial judge rightly called for the trio to present their defense against the murder charges, affirming that they were afforded a fair trial and were fully aware of the prosecution’s case against them. The trio deliberately caused the victim’s death by suffocation and disposal of her body in the sea.
Joining Judge Vazeer on the bench were Datuk Wong Kian Kheong and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin. The prosecution was headed by Deputy Public Prosecutor Noorhisham Jaafar, with Malarvili and Kavin Mukilan represented by Jasmine Cheong and Afifuddin Ahmad Hafifi, respectively. Sunil’s legal team comprised Amer Hamzah Arshad, Chew Jee San, Kitson Foong, and Joshua Tay.
In a separate development, on December 27, 2018, High Court Judge Datuk Zulkifli Bakar had imposed death sentences on Sunil, Malarvili, and Kavin Mukilan for the murder of Balveer Kaur on Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan, Perak, on February 13, 2015. The trio allegedly silenced the victim until she suffocated, thereafter disposing of her body in the sea, in violation of Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Furthermore, they were convicted of abducting Balveer Kaur and detaining her unlawfully for a ransom of RM2 million at a construction site in Bandar Sunway from noon to 5:53 pm on February 13, 2015. The offense, under Section 3 of the Kidnapping Act 1961, carries either the death penalty or life imprisonment, with the possibility of caning if not sentenced to death. – Bernama
