U Suresh, the prosecution witness in the trial of the murder of cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya and three others, was charged in  the Sessions Court in Shah Alam today with giving false evidence.

The accused pleaded not guilty and claimed trial after the charge was read out to him in Tamil before Judge Mohamed Mokhzani Mokhtar.

Suresh, 27, a farm worker, was charged with giving false evidence during the proceedings of Public Prosecutor versus N Pathmanabhan, T Thilaiyalagan, R Matan and R Khatavarayan before Judge Akhtar Tahir, contradicting his statement to recording officer ASP Ong Seng Keong on Oct 26 2010 in Sungai Udang Prison, Malacca.

The accused is charged under Section 193 of the Penal Code which carries a jail term of up to seven years and a fine.

Suresh allegedly committed the offence between 9.30am and 12 noon on July 25 and 27 in High Court 8 in Shah Alam.

Mohamed Mokhzani fixed Nov 3 for re-mention of the case.

Suresh is the 29th prosecution witness in the trial of former lawyer Pathmanabhan and farm workers Thilaiyalagan, Matan and Khatavarayan, charged with murdering Sosilawati, 47, bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, 38, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and Sosilawati’s driver, Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, in Jalan Tanjong Layang, Tanjung Sepat, Banting, between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30, 2010.

   

On Oct 15 2010, Suresh and another farm worker K Sarawanan, 20, were each sentenced to 28 years in prison (seven years on each count), after they pleaded guilty at the Telok Datok Magistrates Court, Banting, to disposing of evidence related to the murders.

Magistrate  Hurmain Hussain ordered the sentence to run concurrently which meant they would have each served seven years from the date they were arrested on Sept 9, 2010.    

However in February this year, High Court Judge Mohtaruddin Baki exercised his powers of judicial review under the Criminal Procedure Code and reduced the sentence to five years for each count but ordered it to run consecutively, which  means they will serve 20 years.

- Bernama