Relief for Morais family after conviction of killers

After an almost five-year stressful wait, justice was finally served to the family of the late Datuk Kevin Morais, when the six men charged with murdering the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) was sentenced to death by the High Court here today.

A crushed Datuk Richard Morais, the youngest brother of the late Morais, could not even finish reading his Victim Impact Statement as he could no longer hold back his tears.

Richard expressed his gratitude over the High Court’s decision today which saw pathologist Colonel Dr R. Kunaseegaran and five other men sentenced to death after they were found guilty of murdering Morais, whose body was found in a barrel filled with concrete five years ago.

Judge Azman Abdullah meted out the sentence on Kunaseegaran, 57, money lender S. Ravi Chandaran, 49, and four more unemployed men - R. Dinishwaran, 28; A.K. Thinesh Kumar, 27; M. Vishwanath, 30; and S. Nimalan, 27.

In tears, Richard, when met outside the courtroom, said the mandatory death sentence on all of the accused has given him closure knowing the criminals will pay for their crime and will never be allowed to rejoin society again.

"This will not change the fact that we have lost Kevin, a fantastic and dedicated Deputy Public Prosecutor, a loving and caring brother, a supportive and loyal friend.

“Finally, I would also like to thank former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, for recommending the late Kevin a Datukship from the Late King, the Sultan of Kedah,” he said.

In his Victim Impact Statement, Richard said when he laid eyes on the badly mangled and decomposed body of his brother, he lost all thoughts and became hysterical.

“I say this, no one should go through the scars of seeing your loved one in such condition.

"His body was so badly unrecognisable I had to come back to give my blood sample for a positive DNA match,” he said.

Meanwhile, soon to be Solicitor-General (SG), Datuk Abdul Razak Musa, who joined the legal service together with the late Morais, said on behalf of the Judicial and Legal Service Officers Association (Jalsoa) he was satisfied with the decision.

"We are from the same batch...We came here to support him and we are also concerned over the safety of our legal officers," he said.

Lawyer Datuk N.Sivananthan who represented Kunaseegaran said they will be filing an appeal against today’s court ruling.

“We will be filing for the appeal. This is only part one of the process. We respect the Court’s decision...Regarding the appeal, we will see what view the appellate Court will take,” he said when met outside the court after the proceedings.

When met out of the courtroom, DPP Saiful Edris Zainuddin, who led the prosecution team in the trial for almost five years, said the team had finally crossed the first hurdle.

"For today, we are happy with the decision. There are two more rounds at the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. Let us pray for the late Datuk Kevin, we over here have not forgotten him and we will continue to be there for him,” he said.

-- BERNAMA