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Tuesday, 12 October 2010

Brothers, another suspect file application to review detention

KUALA LUMPUR: Two lawyer brothers and another suspect filed a review application against the extension of the remand order on them obtained by police in connection with the murder of cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.

Lawyer Ravi Nekoo filed the application this morning at the High Court criminal registry here via law firm, Hakem Arabi & Associates.

In the application, Ravi stated that he filed the review under the instruction of his clients and wife of the third suspect on the orders issued by the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court registrar on Oct 8 in extending the detention order.

He is seeking the matter to be reviewed by the High Court under Section 323 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In the application, all three suspects stated that they were detained on Sept 11 at No 109, Jalan Cempaka, Taman Seri Teluk Datuk, Banting and were remanded for 14 days to facilitate police investigation into the reported disappearance of Sosilawati and three others.

The three were released and rearrested on Sept 25, before police obtained a remand order up to Oct 2, to facilitate investigation into the disappearance of Indian national Allal Kanthan Muthuraja.

They were remanded further until Oct 7, and were produced before magistrate Ahmad Shakib Ismail on Oct 8 at the Bukil Jalil temporary detention centre, where another seven days' remand was obtained to facilitate the investigation into the reported disappearance of Mohd Shafiq Abdullah and Thevaraj Shanmugam.

Several issues

Ravi, in the application, said the investigation officer ASP Tonny Anak Longgan had stated seven grounds for extension of the detention order.

The grounds were to

* establish the suspects' involvement in the murder and motive;

* track down other accomplices;

* trace exibits allegedly disposed of by the suspects;

* record their statements;

* carry out the identification parade;

* investigate the business dealing between the suspects and victims; and

* investigate the business partners of the suspects who were allegedly involved in the diamond business.

Ravi said the trio who were represented by him and two other lawyers, Pushpa Ratnam and Ng See Teong, had objected to Tonny's application.

However, magistrate Ahmad Shakib allowed the police application and ordered the remand order to be extended to Oct 13.

In the review application, Ravi stated that the High Court should look into several issues including the failure of the magistrate to consider remand application individually rather than omnibus.

Ravi contended that the magistrate was wrong in issuing the extension order and that the reasons stated by police were irrelevant.

Meanwhile, Ravi, when contacted, said no date was fixed to hear the application.

Sosilawati, 47, her driver Kamaruddin Shansuddin, 44, CIMB officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, and lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abd Karim, 32, were reported missing since Aug 30 after they were said to have gone to Banting over a land transaction.

On Sept 13, police confirmed that the four victims were beaten to death before their bodies were burnt and the ashes scattered into a river near Ladang Gadong in Banting, Selangor.

- Bernama

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