The High Court in Shah Alam today adjourned to tomorrow the murder trial of Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.

Judge Akhtar Tahir allowed the adjournment after the court was informed that one of the accused, M Khatavarayan was ill and could not be present at the trial for more than a week.  

Manjeet Singh Dhillon on behalf of Ravi Neko, counsel for the accused, said Khatavarayan was suspected to have tuberculosis and was being treated at the Sungai Buloh Hospital.    

He told the court Ravi Neko had agreed for the proceedings to resume without his client.

Manjeet added that Gurbachan Singh, counsel for another of the accused, T Thilaiyalagan, was at the hospital today to check on Khatavarayan’s condition.  

    

The prosecution team led by DPP Ishak Mohd Yusof then applied for an adjournment, saying they had not expected such a situation and needed the day to realign their line-up of witnesses.  

The murder trial involves lawyer N Pathmanabhan and three farm workers Thilaiyalagan, R Matan and R Khatavarayan charged with the murder of Sosilawati, 47, bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, 38, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32 and Sosilawati’s driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, at Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjong Layang, Tanjung Sepat in Banting between 8.30 and 9.45 pm on Aug 30 last year.    

Pathmanabhan, 42, Thilaiyalagan, 20, Matan, 21; and Kathavarayan, 31, face the mandatory death sentence upon conviction under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

- Bernama