Kuala lumpur: The High Court here today discharged and acquitted a labourer of a charge of murdering a single mother and her male friend at a flat unit in Taman Ungku Aminah, Skudai here, seven years ago. Judge Datuk Abu Bakar Katar made the ruling after finding that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against the accused, M. Jaykumar, 39, at the close of its case.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, in his judgment, Abu Bakar stated that the prosecution had failed to prove that the deaths of K. Kamala, 51, and S. Silvaraja, 59, were caused by injuries inflicted by the accused. He noted the absence of traces of the victims' blood on the accused's clothes or belongings, highlighting that these items were not seized by the investigating officer for DNA testing.

The judge further addressed the issue of ownership of jewellery pawned by the accused. He remarked that the prosecution could not prove the jewellery belonged to Kamala, as her children could not confirm ownership during testimony, thus creating reasonable doubt. He also pointed out that some jewellery was still found with Kamala.

The prosecution's attempt to link the accused to the crime scene based on the timeline of events was also dismissed. The theory relied on Jaykumar being the last person seen with the victims between 7 pm on Oct 31 and 3 am on Nov 1. However, a witness testified that Kamala was on the phone at 11.50 pm, contradicting the prosecution's timeline.

M. Jaykumar faced charges under Section 302 of the Penal Code for the murders of K. Kamala and S. Silvaraja at a flat unit in Jalan Hang Jebat 14, Taman Ungku Aminah. The charge carries a mandatory death penalty upon conviction. The prosecution, led by deputy public prosecutor Juanita Mohd Said, called a total of 20 witnesses, while Jaykumar was represented by lawyers Datin Freda Sabapathy and K. Sarawanan.