Two men who were sentenced to four years' jail today succeeded in their appeal at the Court of Appeal to set aside a lower court's decision to convict them for faking the death of wanted criminal, Michael Soosai.

A three-member panel chaired by Court of Appeal president Md Raus Sharif unanimously allowed the appeal by scrap metal trader V. Sanjeev Kumar, 38, and J. Kumaresan, 32, against their conviction and sentences.

However, the judges sentenced another accused, K Subramaniam, 37, a former Kuala Lumpur Hospital attendant, to a one-year jail term for using a forged document.  

In the 34-page judgment read out by Mohd Hishamudin Yunus, the judges agreed with the findings of the trial judges of the Session Court and the High Court that Subramaniam was not a credible witness and that his evidence had not cast a reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case.

"His evidence has not cast a reasonable doubt against the prosecution's case, even assuming the charges against him to be that of forgery simpliciter," he said.

On July 8, 2010, the three men were sentenced to four years' jail and fined RM15,000 each by the Sessions Court after they were found guilty of falsifying Kuala Lumpur Hospital mortuary records, Soosai's death certificate, and the burial permit.

They were sentenced to four years' jail each and fined RM5,000 on each count, in default a year's jail.

The Sessions Court also sentenced them to another two years' jail each on the fourth charge of cheating Dr Wan Mohamed Zamri Wan Nawawi, 45, by inducing him to issue the death certificate for Soosai at the HKL mortuary between 11 am and 3 pm on Sept 12, 2003.

Sentences to run concurrently

In today's proceedings, the panel of judges set aside the convictions and sentences that were recorded or passed by the trial judge based on Section 468 of the Panel Code (forgery with the intention to cheat) and affirmed by the High Court.

"In the exercise of powers of this court as conferred by Section 60 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, we're allowing, but partially, the appeal of the third appelant, Subramaniam, on the first, second and third charges.

"We set aside the convictions and sentences that were recorded or passed by earlier judges and for each of the three charges, we substitute a conviction for the offence of forgery simpliciter under Section 465 of the Penal Code and a sentence of imprisonment of one year and a fine of RM5,000 (in default six months imprisonment).

"We order the one-year sentences for the three charges to run concurrently," he said.

He added there was nothing in the evidence to link the first and second appellants with the falsification by Subramaniam of the burial permit.

- Bernama