The Sessions Court in Shah Alam today fixed Nov 5 and 6 for the trial of farm worker U Suresh who is accused of giving false evidence in the murder case of cosmetics milionaire Sosilawati Lawiya and three other individuals.

Judge Mohammed Mokhzani Mokhtar set the dates after deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Salwa Asmary Abdul Rahim told the court that the prosecution had received the notes of proceedings from Justice Akhtar Tahir.

Last April 30, Akhtar ordered former lawyer N Pathmanabhan and three farm workers T Thilaiyalagan, R Matan and R Kathavarayan to enter their defence for the murder of Sosilawati, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad and Sosilawati’s driver, Kamaruddin Shamsuddin.

The Court of Appeal however ordered that the trial be postponed pending a decision on the appeal by the four accused against the High Court’s decision to set aside the subpoenas they issued against three DPPs in the case.

Suresh, 28, and another farm worker, K Sarawanan, 21, are currently serving a 20-year sentence each at the Sungai Udang Prison in Malacca for destroying evidence relating to the murder.

On Aug 10 last year, Suresh claimed trial to giving false evidence at the High Court during the hearing of an application by the defence representing Pathmanabhan and the three accused to cite the prosecution for contempt of court.  

The testimony he gave at the High Court between 9.30am and noon on July 25 and 27, 2011 was allegedly inconsistent with the recorded statement he provided to ASP Ong Seng Keong on Oct 26, 2010 at the Sungai Udang Prison in Malacca.

On Oct 15, 2010, Suresh and Sarawanan pleaded guilty to four charges of destroying evidence of the murder and were jailed seven years on each count by the magistrate’s court in Telok Datok, Banting.

Magistrate Hurman Hussain had ordered the jail terms to run concurrently effective from the date of their arrest on Sept 9, 2010.

However, on Feb 21 last year, High Court Judge Mohtaruddin Baki (now Court of Appeal Judge) invoked his power under the Criminal Procedure Code to review the lower court’s decision.

He reduced each sentence to five years but ordered the terms to run consecutively which meant the duo must serve a total of 20 years each.

- Bernama