The wife of Indian national businessman, A Muthuraja told the High Court hearing the murders of cosmetic millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya and three others that her husband had never returned to India after coming to Malaysia to meet N Pathmanabhan, a former lawyer who is the first accused in the case, two years ago.

S Usharani, 26, from Chennai, said Muthuraja left for Malaysia on Jan 18, 2010 after receiving a call from Pathmanabhan.

Questioned by deputy public prosecutor Saiful Edris Zainuddin how did she know about the call, Usharani said Muthuraja’s telephone was in the loudspeaker mode when he received the call from Pathmanabhan on Jan 16, 2010.

Faiful Edris: You said Pathmanabhan made the call. Do you know him?

Usharani: Yes. I know him because when I gave birth to my child, Pathmanabhan came to India to visit me in 2007.

Usharani testified in Tamil which was then translated to Malay by a court interpreter. When asked to identify the person, she pointed to Pathmanabhan who was in the dock.

The 101st prosecution witness was testifying in the trial of the former lawyer and three farm workers, T Thilaiyalagan, R Matan and R Khatavarayan , who are charged with murdering Sosilawati, 47, bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, 38, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and Sosilawati’s driver, Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44.

Pathmanabhan, 43, Thilaiyalagan, 21, Matan, 22, and Kathavarayan, 32, are charged with committing the offence at Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjong Layang, Tanjung Sepat in Banting between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30, 2010.

They are charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries the mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Usharani said that her husband contacted her at noon on Jan 18, 2010 after arriving in Malaysia and the last call she received from him was about 10pm the same day.

“In the telephone conversation, he (Muthuraja) said that he was with Pathmanabhan and told me to take good care of our child and also said he would return to India in two days,” she added.

Saiful Edris: Did Muthuraja say who fetched him when he arrived in Malaysia?

Usharani: Pathmanabhan.

Saiful Edris: Did he (Muthuraja) say where he was going when arriving in Malaysia?

Usharani: No.

She also said she called Muthuraja on Jan 19, 2010, but the calls went to the voicemail and that until today she still could not contact him and did not know his whereabouts.

Questioned how frequent did Muthuraja came to Malaysia, Usharani said her husband would come to Malaysia about three times a year and on every trip would  meet with Pathmanabhan.

Saiful Edris: How do you know?

Usharani: Because when in Malaysia, my husband will call me from Pathmanabhan’s house. Pathmanabhan’s mother, sister and siblings also told me so.

Missing person’s report lodged

Usharani said she lodged a missing person’s report on her husband at the Banting police station in September 2010.

Questioned by Saiful Edris for the delay in lodging the report, Usharani said it was because Pathmanabhan and his brother, Surendran, did not allow her to do so and they told her that her husband was detained for a land offence.

Saiful Edris: Did you try to contact Pathmanabhan and Surendran when you failed to contact your husband?

Usharani: Yes, I contacted Surendran to ask him where my husband was and he said he did not know. Surendran said he wanted to go to India.

To a question whether she contacted Pathmanabhan, Usharani said she tried to contact him on Jan 20, 2010, but could not reach him and when she asked Surendran, she was told that Pathmanabhan was in Kathmandu, Nepal and he (Surendran) gave her his (Pathmanabhan) contact number there.

When she did manage to contact Pathmanabhan, the later told her that he did not know where Muthuraja was.

Meanwhile, during cross-examination, lawyer Manjeet Singh Dhillon questioned Usharani’s status as Muthuraja’s wife because in her passport Muthuraja’s name was not stated as her husband.

Manjeet Singh:

Do you know that in India a Hindu can only have one wife?

Usharani: Disagree.

Manjeet Singh: Muthuraja’s mother, first wife and siblings are not on good terms with you?

Usharani: Disagree.

Manjeet Singh:

You are a Hindu and have a red ‘pottu’ on your forehead. A woman who is married wears the ‘pottu’ when the husband is still alive.

Usharani: Yes.

Manjeet Singh: You wears the ‘pottu’ because you believe your husband is still alive?

Usharani: I don't know

She also disagreed with Manjeet Singh who said that her husband left her for another woman.

The hearing before Judge Akhtar Tahir continues on Wednesday.

- Bernama