The High Court here was today told that the sixth and seventh accused spoke with deputy public prosecutor Anthony Kevin Morais on Sept 4, 2015 at the scene of an accident involving the victim’s car and the four-wheel-drive that four of the accused were in.

M Vishwanath, 28, said he briefly saw Morais, 55, when the accident happened between the Mitsubishi Triton he was in and the Proton Perdana V6 driven by the victim.

He also saw Morais pulling over his car to the side of the road, and talking with the sixth accused, S Nimalan, and seventh accused S Ravi Chandaran.

“I saw the three of them (Morais, Nimalan, Ravi Chandaran) talking,” said the fourth defence witness, under cross-examination by deputy public prosecutor Saiful Edris Zainuddin on the seventh day of the defence trial.

Vishwanath who is also an accused in the trial said he did not see Morais in the Perdana V6 when Ravi Chandaran drove off in it.

The witness disagreed when DPP Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin proposed that he had alighted from the Mitsubishi Triton and slapped Morais after the latter moved his car to the side of the road.

He also disagreed that Thinesh Kumar and Dinishwaran assisted him in dragging Morais into the back seat of the Perdana V6 before Ravi Chandaran drove the car to a workshop owned by one Murugan.

Vishwanath further disagreed when Wan Shaharuddin proposed that Thinesh Kumar and Dinishwaran beat up Morais inside the car till he collapsed, and that at the workshop, Morais’ neck was garrotted with a belt and his face covered with plastic.

Defence counsel V Rajehgopal is representing Dinishwaran, Thinesh Kumar, Vishwanath, Nimalan, and Ravi Chandaran in the case, while N Sivananthan is representing Dr R Kunaseegaran.

Dinishwaran, 26; Thinesh Kumar, 25; Vishwanath; Nimalan, 25; Ravi Chandaran, 47; and Kunaseegaran, 55, are accused of murdering Morais along Jalan Dutamas 1, Sentul towards No 1 Jalan USJ 1/6D, Subang Jaya, between 7am and 8pm on Sept 4, 2015.

They face the gallows if found guilty, under Section 302 of the Penal Code read with Section 34.

Morais’ body was found in a drum filled with concrete at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya on Sept 16, 2015 after he was reported missing on Sept 4, 2015.

The trial presided by justice Azman Abdullah continues on April 17.

- Bernama