UNEMPLOYED MAN CHARGED WITH MURDER OF BUSINESSMAN

KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 (Bernama) -- An unemployed man who had been on the run for four years was brought before the Magistrate’s Court here today, on a charge of murdering a businessman in a residential area in Mont Kiara in 2022.

VV. Vadivelu, 39, along with three other individuals who had been charged earlier, is accused of murdering Goh Chok Chuan, 63, at a car park near the guardhouse of Amarin Kiara, Mont Kiara, here, at 11.40 pm on July 11, 2022.

The charge was framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same law, which provides for the death penalty, or imprisonment of not less than 30 years and not more than 40 years, and if not sentenced to death, shall also be subject to not fewer than 12 strokes of the cane upon conviction.

No plea was recorded from the accused after the charge was read before Magistrate MS Arunjothy, as murder cases fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court.

Prosecuting officer M. Alli Nangai did not offer any bail as the offence was non-bailable.

“We request the court to fix a mention date for the prosecution to obtain consent to transfer this case to the High Court.

“The three other accused who were charged earlier have already been sentenced, after they pleaded guilty under Section 304(b) of the Penal Code,” she said.

The court set June 8 for mention.

On July 12, 2022, the media reported that the police, in a statement, said that witnesses heard three gunshots before discovering the victim’s body.

The victim was said to have been playing mahjong at a friend’s house in Amarin Kiara, and was reportedly shot near his car, which was parked close to the guardhouse outside the residential area.

-- BERNAMA