Nhaveen’s mum threatens hunger strike if AGC remains silent on arrest warrant

November 15, 2023

Nhaveen’s mum threatens hunger strike if AGC remains silent on arrest warrant

PETALING JAYA: The mother of the late T Nhaveen said she will go on hunger strike on Saturday unless the authorities update her about the application for an arrest warrant for the five people acquitted of her son’s murder.

The five were found not guilty of murdering Nhaveen in 2017 by the Penang High Court on Oct 3 and the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has filed a notice of appeal over their acquittal on Oct 13.

Shanti Dorairaj, through activist Arun Dorasamy and family lawyers, had previously urged the AGC to arrest the five, who she fears will leave the country before the prosecution is able to pursue an appeal against the High Court decision.

In a letter to the AGC dated Nov 8, Shanti said her lawyers had not received a response to their application for an arrest warrant for the five.

“As a mother who has lost her eldest child, I am desperate to obtain justice for him and I cannot remain silent,” she said in a letter to AGC appellate and trial division chief Dusuki Mokhtar.

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“I hope the AGC understands the stress I am going through and the emptiness I feel without knowing what is happening with this case.

“I humbly request for a decision or appointment from you. If you are unwilling to meet me and/or provide my lawyer or me with an update, I have no choice but to organise a hunger strike in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 18.”

Shanti said the arrest warrant application was in line with the provisions set out under Rule 58(3) of the Rules of the Court of Appeal 1994.

The rule states that as soon as a notice of appeal is filed by the public prosecutor, the Court of Appeal may, on an application by the public prosecutor, issue a warrant directing that the accused be arrested and brought before it.

The Court of Appeal may order that the accused be remanded in prison pending the disposal of the appeal or allow the accused bail.

Shanti also requested the AGC to provide information regarding the case’s appeal.

FMT has contacted the AGC for comment.

On Oct 3, the High Court in George Town acquitted five men, including two who were juveniles at the time they were charged, of the murder of Nhaveen.

The five – S Gopinaath, 30, J Ragesuthan, 22, S Gokulan, 22, and the two youths who were charged as juveniles – had been accused of murdering Nhaveen, then 18, at a park on Jalan Bunga Raya between 11pm and midnight on June 9, 2017.