The murder trial of cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya and three others at the High Court in Shah Alam was today told that the first defendant, N Pathmanabhan had bought the farm, Ladang Gadong, in Banting, said to be the location of the murder of the four individuals, because he wanted to run a chicken and dog breeding business.

The fourth accused, R Kathavarayan, 32, said he was informed about the matter by Pathmanabhan while he was helping the former lawyer in supervising renovation work at the latter's new office in Banting in 2009.

“After he (Pathmanabhan) told me that he bought the farm to run a business, I got interested to work with him.

“Initially, Pathmanabhan was planning to run a chicken and dog breeding business, but after a while, we started to breed other livestock as well,” he said during examination-in-chief by his counsel Ravi Nekoo.

Kathavarayan, together Pathmanabhan, 43, T Thilaiyalagan, 21, and R Matan, 22, were ordered to enter their defence on charges of murdering Sosilawati, 47, bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, 38, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and Sosilawati’s driver, Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44.

They allegedly committed the offence at a farm, Ladang Gadong, Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjong Layang, Tanjung Sepat in Banting between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30, 2010.

The offence under Section 302 of the Penal Code carries a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

When the counsel asked why Pathmanabhan discussed the business plan with him, Kathavarayan said: “Pathmanabhan asked me if I can manage the chicken breeding business and I said yes. So, we started the business.”

“Do you have experience in breeding chickens?” asked Ravi.

“I have no experience in breeding chickens, but I know about the business and have experience in raising dogs,” said Kathavarayan, who met Pathmanabhan for the first time in 2000.

The fourth defence witness also said that the first time Pathmanabhan took him to the farm, he saw that it was full of oil palm trees and the soil was black in colour.

Nine other farms on the left side of Ladang Gadong

Kathavarayan said there were nine farms, belonging to other individuals, on the left side of Ladang Gadong.

“Do you know what business or activities taking place at the nine farms?” asked Ravi.

“Three of them are running poultry business, one Chinese owner runs a longan fruit farm, two others are breeding cattle, another two are planting vegetables and breeding goats, while the last one is left idle with some oil palm trees,” Kathavarayan answered.

“Have any of the animals (in Ladang Gadong) ever been sold?” asked Ravi.

“Yes, the selling transactions began in early 2010 where I had personally sent the chickens to the market. Many of my friends had also came to the farm to buy chickens. As for the dog business, I would sell the puppies to some pet shops and some of my friends had even bought dogs at the farm,” the accused answered.

The trial before High Court Judge Akhtar Tahir continues on Dec 3.

- Bernama