Sosilawati trial: Bar Council received complaint about lawyer

The Sun Daily
by Tan Yi Liang

SHAH ALAM (March 15, 2013): The Bar Council received a complaint about a lawyer who represented mechanic K.Sarawanan at the Teluk Datok Magistrate's Court in 2010, the High Court heard today.

Bar Council Director of Complaints Tomis anak Peter Samat testified at the Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya murder trial that Sarawanan's father, N.Kandasamy had lodged a report against the law firm owned by Roslie Sulle.

To further questions from defence counsel Manjeet Singh Dhillon, Tomis said the complaint against Messrs' Sulle & Co was lodged in 2010.

She added that the Disciplinary Board found prima facie merit in the complaint and sent a show-cause letter to the law firm in the same year.

Tomis said that while a Disciplinary Committee of two lawyers and one layperson was set up two years ago, up to today, the Committee has yet to convene.

Sulle was one of three lawyers who represented Sarawanan when he and odd-job worker U.Suresh, 30, were charged for disposing evidence linked to the murders of Sosilawati and three others in 2010.

The two other lawyers are M. Puravalen and Muhammad Naguib Abdul Malik.

Both Sarawanan and Suresh are currently serving 20-year jail sentences after pleading guilty to the charges on Oct 15, 2010

However in his testimony on Thursday, Kandasamy claimed Sarawanan was tricked by Sulle into pleading guilty when he was charged at the Teluk Datok Magistrates Court.

He had told the court that Sulle had promised to ensure that Sarawanan would walk free, but told Sarawanan to nod to everything that was said to him when he was charged in court.

Sarawanan had pleaded guilty to burning the bodies of Sosilawati and three others.

Former lawyer N. Pathmanabhan, 43, and farmhands T. Thilaiyalagan, 21, R. Matan, 22, and R. Kathavarayan, 34, are currently on trial for the murders of Sosilawati and three others.

The three are bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, 38, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44.

Pathmanaban , Thilayalagan, Matan and Khatavarayan allagedy committed the murders at Ladang Gadong, Lot 2001, Jalan Tanjong Layang in Tanjong Sepat, Banting, between 8.30pm and 9.45pm on Aug 30, 2010.

During further testimony this morning, Bar Council Membership Department officer C. Gayathry said Sulle and Naguib were no longer practicing lawyers.

Gayathry said Naguib had sent a letter of cessation in 2012 while Sulle did not renew his Annual Practicing Certificate for 2013.

Meanwhile, the last witness today – Hakem Arabi & Co dispatch rider S. Baskaran testified that he was told to "mampus" or get lost when he served a subpoena on a police officer on Thursday.

To questions from defence counsel Gurbachan Singh, Baskaran said he was told this by Assistant Comissioner of Police Abdul Aziz Zakaria, who was served a subpoena to attend court today.

Baskaran testified that Abdul Aziz said to him "You can get lost. If a warrant is to be issued, a warrant can be issued."

He added that Abdul Aziz refused to sign the subpoena, adding that Abdul Aziz said he would not attend court as he had other appointments.

During today's proceeding, High Court Judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir directed that an arrest warrant be issued and executed if Abdul Aziz did not appear in court by 11am.

However trial was subsequently adjourned to Monday, after Deputy Public Prosecutor Ishak Mohd Yusoff told Akhtar in chambers that Abdul Aziz was unable to be present in court, as he had a doctor's appointment at the National Heart Institute.