A seamstress was sentenced to four years’ jail by the Magistrate’s Court in Kuala Lumpur today after she was found guilty of giving false testimony in the murder trial of deputy public prosecutor Anthony Kevin Morais last year.

Magistrate Namirah Hanum Mohamed Albaki handed down the sentence on S Yogeswari, 38, who was the 37th prosecution witness in the murder trial, after finding that the defence had failed to raise reasonable doubts against the prosecution’s case.

She ordered the woman, who is a single mother, to serve the jail sentence today and also to pay the cost of RM1,500 to the prosecution.

However, the court allowed a request by lawyer J Jayarubbiny, representing Yogeswari, for a stay of the jail sentence pending an appeal, but increased the bail from RM5,000 to RM13,000.

Yogeswari was found guilty of giving false testimony when testifying as a witness in the murder trial before judge Azman Abdullah at High Court 1, Jalan Duta Court Complex, at 11 am on Sept 27, 2016.

The charge, under Section 193 of the Penal Code, provides an imprisonment for up to seven years and fine, upon conviction.

The single mother had given false evidence on a Mitsubishi Triton four-wheel-drive-vehicle, bearing number plate registration PEP 1135, which belonged to her that was allegedly used to ram into Kevin Morais’ car.

In her testimony in court, she said the vehicle was with her every night from Aug 2, 2015 to Sept 11, 2015.

The statement was said to be in contradiction with the statement she gave to police at the Criminal Investigation Department, Kulim District headquarters in Kedah, Inspector M Vasu on Sept 27, 2015, that the vehicle was with a person named Selvam.

In mitigation, Jayarubbiny said it was her client’s first offence and that the single mother had an eight-year-old daughter.

Deputy public prosecutor Mohammad Izzat Fauzan, who prosecuted, asked the court to consider public interest factor and the problems she had created for the prosecution to pursue the case.

“Her action was as if she was protecting the accused in the murder case,” he said.

- Bernama