By NURBAITI HAMDAN, The Star
nurbaiti@thestar.com.my
SHAH ALAM: Former lawyer N. Pathmanabhan has denied planning and conspiring with three farm hands to murder cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and her three companions.
The accused, who took the stand as the first defence witness yesterday, said he did not have any motive to kill her.
He denied owing her any money. Instead, he said, he had given a RM4mil loan to Sosilawati through two cheques.
“Even if I did not have the money to pay a person, I would not resort to killing,” said the soft-spoken man.
Pathmanabhan, 43, and farm hands T. Thilaiyalagan, 21, R. Matan, 22, and R.Kathavarayan, 32, are accused of murdering Sosilawati, 47, her driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, 38, and lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32.
The accused said he first met Sosilawati at a hotel in 2008.
The meeting, arranged by politician Datuk Suhaimi Mohd Ghazali and his personal assistant Datuk Sabari Misran, was over the purchase of three land plots owned by Indian national businessman A. Muthuraja, in Batu Feringghi, Penang.
He added that Sosilawati bought Muthuraja’s land through her company, Southern Symphony Sdn Bhd, for RM25mil.
She only paid RM1.2mil when the required 10% deposit was RM2.5mil.
“The balance was paid by me, Suhaimi and Sabari. Our names are not mentioned in the sales and purchase agreement but our interests are protected in a memorandum of understanding signed with Southern Symphony,” Pathmanabhan said.
Sosilawati, he said, then sold the land to Ample Quality Sdn Bhd – whose director is Sementa assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rahman Palil – for RM29mil.
However, Pathmanabhan said Ample Quality planned to sell the land to One United Sdn Bhd purportedly for RM200mil.
“When Sosilawati found out, she said ‘Why didn’t I sell this for RM150mil?’ She then asked me to prepare a new set of sales and purchase agreement,” he added.
The accused said the land transfer process could not be done as the land still had a caveat on it as of August 2010. The hearing continues today before Justice Akhtar Tahir.
N. Pathmanabhan (in long-sleeved shirt) leaving the Shah Alam High Court with his farm hands (from right) R. Matan, T. Thilaiyalagan and R. Kathavarayan yesterday. Bernama pic
SHAH ALAM: COSMETICS queen Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya was murdered over RM3 million which was owed to her by lawyer N. Pathmanabhan.
High Court judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir found this to be a compelling motive for Pathmanabhan to commit the murders.
Sosilawati's three other companions, he said, were just "at the wrong place at the wrong time".
"They had to be killed," said Akhtar yesterday when he ordered Pathmanabhan and his three farm hands to enter their defence for the murders of Sosilawati and three others.
Akthar took 80 minutes to read out his judgment before a packed courtroom comprising family members of the victims and accused.
Pathmanabhan, 44, and his farm hands T. Thilaiyalagan, 21; R. Matan, 22; and R. Kathavarayan, 33, are charged with the murders of Sosilawati, 47; driver Kamaruddin Shansudin, 44, banker Noorhisham Mohamad, 38; and lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, at a farm in Tanjung Sepat, Banting, on Aug 30, 2010.
Akhtar said Sosilawati had gone to meet Pathmanabhan on the day of the incident to bring forward the date on a cheque to enable her to pay her staff bonuses.
He said Sosilawati and her three aides went to Banting intwo vehicles.
"A witness at the farm testified she saw three men and a woman at the farm on that day.
"She had also testified she heard a woman scream twice and saw a huge fire," he said, adding that the witness, placed under the "witness protection" programme, was not a partial witness as contended by the defence.
The judge said two other witnesses, U. Suresh and K. Sarawanan, currently serving 20-year jail terms, who were initially the prosecution's key witnesses, had also failed to explain their contradicting statements in court.
They had pleaded guilty at the magistrate's court to disposing of evidence but later challenged their own pleas, claiming that they were forced to plead guilty.
Akhtar said Sosilawati's family members lodged a missing person's report and that her ex-husband had called Pathmanabhan to ask about her whereabouts.
"The accused flatly denied meeting her. The missing person's report was significant as it showed that it was not normal for her to go away without informing her family.
"Pathmanabhan's outright denial of meeting Sosilawati clearly showed he was lying.
"It showed his guilt."
On the contention that interrogating officer Chief Inspector N. Govindan had used force against Thilaiyalagan and Kathavarayan, to obtain evidence, Akhtar said he found the officer to bear no malice against the two.
He also said the two were "chirping like birds" during the interrogation.
"I agree that there was a degree of degradation in the samples recovered, but the DNA of two victims were still obtained."
He said after total evaluation of the prosecution's case, he found that the farm belonged to Pathmanabhan, he had met with Sosilawati at the farm in an arranged visit and that Thilaiyalagan, Matan and Kathavarayan had unloaded logs, showing a pre-arranged plan.
"It is not necessary for me to prove who delivered the fatal blow but that there was common intention among them to kill."
The trial took 71 days with 108 witnesses taking the stand.
It will resume on May 28.
Meanwhile, outside court, Zaidah Shamsuddin, 53, cried when the decision was delivered. Her brother was Sosilawati's driver, Kamaruddin.
"I am happy with the decision."
Zaidah, who is looking after Kamaruddin's youngest son, said that she could not believe that it had been almost two years since her brother went missing. "He has entrusted his child to us, so life has to go on."
Sosilawati's daughter, Erni Dekritawati Yuliana Buhari, said that she had been following the progress of the case through her lawyer.
"I wanted to be at the court today, but had a meeting that I could not skip," she said in a telephone interview.
She said that the family was glad that the case was moving on swiftly. The-soon-to-be-mother said she was continuing her mother's legacy in the business world and was now busy being a wife and preparing for motherhood. Additional reporting by Elizabeth Zachariah and Liyana Jamaludin
nurbaiti@thestar.com.my
SHAH ALAM: Former lawyer N. Pathmanabhan has denied planning and conspiring with three farm hands to murder cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and her three companions.
The accused, who took the stand as the first defence witness yesterday, said he did not have any motive to kill her.
He denied owing her any money. Instead, he said, he had given a RM4mil loan to Sosilawati through two cheques.
“Even if I did not have the money to pay a person, I would not resort to killing,” said the soft-spoken man.
Pathmanabhan, 43, and farm hands T. Thilaiyalagan, 21, R. Matan, 22, and R.Kathavarayan, 32, are accused of murdering Sosilawati, 47, her driver Kamaruddin Shamsuddin, 44, bank officer Noorhisham Mohamad, 38, and lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32.
The accused said he first met Sosilawati at a hotel in 2008.
The meeting, arranged by politician Datuk Suhaimi Mohd Ghazali and his personal assistant Datuk Sabari Misran, was over the purchase of three land plots owned by Indian national businessman A. Muthuraja, in Batu Feringghi, Penang.
He added that Sosilawati bought Muthuraja’s land through her company, Southern Symphony Sdn Bhd, for RM25mil.
She only paid RM1.2mil when the required 10% deposit was RM2.5mil.
“The balance was paid by me, Suhaimi and Sabari. Our names are not mentioned in the sales and purchase agreement but our interests are protected in a memorandum of understanding signed with Southern Symphony,” Pathmanabhan said.
Sosilawati, he said, then sold the land to Ample Quality Sdn Bhd – whose director is Sementa assemblyman Datuk Abdul Rahman Palil – for RM29mil.
However, Pathmanabhan said Ample Quality planned to sell the land to One United Sdn Bhd purportedly for RM200mil.
“When Sosilawati found out, she said ‘Why didn’t I sell this for RM150mil?’ She then asked me to prepare a new set of sales and purchase agreement,” he added.
The accused said the land transfer process could not be done as the land still had a caveat on it as of August 2010. The hearing continues today before Justice Akhtar Tahir.
01 May 2012 | NST , By RITA JONG | ritajo@nst.com.my
'Sosilawati killed over RM3m' N. Pathmanabhan (in long-sleeved shirt) leaving the Shah Alam High Court with his farm hands (from right) R. Matan, T. Thilaiyalagan and R. Kathavarayan yesterday. Bernama pic
High Court judge Datuk Akhtar Tahir found this to be a compelling motive for Pathmanabhan to commit the murders.
Sosilawati's three other companions, he said, were just "at the wrong place at the wrong time".
"They had to be killed," said Akhtar yesterday when he ordered Pathmanabhan and his three farm hands to enter their defence for the murders of Sosilawati and three others.
Akthar took 80 minutes to read out his judgment before a packed courtroom comprising family members of the victims and accused.
Pathmanabhan, 44, and his farm hands T. Thilaiyalagan, 21; R. Matan, 22; and R. Kathavarayan, 33, are charged with the murders of Sosilawati, 47; driver Kamaruddin Shansudin, 44, banker Noorhisham Mohamad, 38; and lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, at a farm in Tanjung Sepat, Banting, on Aug 30, 2010.
Akhtar said Sosilawati had gone to meet Pathmanabhan on the day of the incident to bring forward the date on a cheque to enable her to pay her staff bonuses.
He said Sosilawati and her three aides went to Banting intwo vehicles.
"A witness at the farm testified she saw three men and a woman at the farm on that day.
"She had also testified she heard a woman scream twice and saw a huge fire," he said, adding that the witness, placed under the "witness protection" programme, was not a partial witness as contended by the defence.
The judge said two other witnesses, U. Suresh and K. Sarawanan, currently serving 20-year jail terms, who were initially the prosecution's key witnesses, had also failed to explain their contradicting statements in court.
They had pleaded guilty at the magistrate's court to disposing of evidence but later challenged their own pleas, claiming that they were forced to plead guilty.
Akhtar said Sosilawati's family members lodged a missing person's report and that her ex-husband had called Pathmanabhan to ask about her whereabouts.
"The accused flatly denied meeting her. The missing person's report was significant as it showed that it was not normal for her to go away without informing her family.
"Pathmanabhan's outright denial of meeting Sosilawati clearly showed he was lying.
"It showed his guilt."
On the contention that interrogating officer Chief Inspector N. Govindan had used force against Thilaiyalagan and Kathavarayan, to obtain evidence, Akhtar said he found the officer to bear no malice against the two.
He also said the two were "chirping like birds" during the interrogation.
"I agree that there was a degree of degradation in the samples recovered, but the DNA of two victims were still obtained."
He said after total evaluation of the prosecution's case, he found that the farm belonged to Pathmanabhan, he had met with Sosilawati at the farm in an arranged visit and that Thilaiyalagan, Matan and Kathavarayan had unloaded logs, showing a pre-arranged plan.
"It is not necessary for me to prove who delivered the fatal blow but that there was common intention among them to kill."
The trial took 71 days with 108 witnesses taking the stand.
It will resume on May 28.
Meanwhile, outside court, Zaidah Shamsuddin, 53, cried when the decision was delivered. Her brother was Sosilawati's driver, Kamaruddin.
"I am happy with the decision."
Zaidah, who is looking after Kamaruddin's youngest son, said that she could not believe that it had been almost two years since her brother went missing. "He has entrusted his child to us, so life has to go on."
Sosilawati's daughter, Erni Dekritawati Yuliana Buhari, said that she had been following the progress of the case through her lawyer.
"I wanted to be at the court today, but had a meeting that I could not skip," she said in a telephone interview.
She said that the family was glad that the case was moving on swiftly. The-soon-to-be-mother said she was continuing her mother's legacy in the business world and was now busy being a wife and preparing for motherhood. Additional reporting by Elizabeth Zachariah and Liyana Jamaludin
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