Kuala lumpur: The prosecution has raised a preliminary objection to an application by a college student seeking to strike out two murder charges over a fatal road crash that claimed the lives of a married couple on Jalan Ampang near Great Eastern Mall on May 2.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry stated that the objection, filed at the High Court yesterday, was made on the grounds that the application by the defense was procedurally defective and did not comply with the provisions of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964. The case was mentioned before Judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin and attended by defense counsel S. Selvam, representing Danish Raman Kamar Kumaresan, 24.
During the proceedings, Selvam informed the court that the defense had filed a notice of motion seeking to strike out the charges. Selvam noted, "We received the prosecution's preliminary objection today. We intend to file our reply to those arguments and therefore request another date for the hearing." He is appearing with co-counsel S. Donald.
Judge Aslam subsequently fixed August 17 to hear the application. In the notice of motion, Danish Raman contended that the Public Prosecutor's decision to charge him under Section 302 of the Penal Code was mala fide, unreasonable, and unconstitutional, alleging it violated Articles 5 and 8 of the Federal Constitution. He argued that applying Section 302 to a road traffic accident in the absence of any intention to kill was contrary to fundamental principles of criminal law and that the murder charges should therefore be quashed.
On May 15, Danish Raman was charged in the Magistrate's Court with the murder of A. Doraisingam, 61, and his wife, A. Menagah, 56. The couple sustained fatal head injuries after the Honda Wave Alpha motorcycle they were riding was allegedly struck from behind by a Toyota Vios on Jalan Ampang, along the stretch from KLCC towards Ampang Point, at about 5.30 am on May 2. The charges were framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which provides for the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years, and not fewer than 12 strokes of the cane, upon conviction.