Three men on trial for the 2017 murder of teenager T. Nhaveen denied attacking him and his friend at a field in Gelugor, Penang.
GEORGE TOWN: One of the four men accused of murdering teenager T. Nhaveen nine years ago denied today that he and the three other accused carried out an attack on the victim and his friend at Padang Openg following a scuffle on Jalan Kaki Bukit, Gelugor.
J. Ragesuthen, 27, told the High Court here that he was on Jalan Kaki Bukit when a “scuffle” occurred between his friend – who was another accused and a minor at the time of the incident – and T. Previin, who was Nhaveen’s friend.
He said Previin acted aggressively and struck his friend with a helmet, and that he stopped Previin from continuing to attack his friend, while two other friends who are also accused, S. Gokulan and another person, subsequently arrived to break up the fight.
“I saw Previin hit another accused friend in the face with a helmet, and he passed out at the scene. Suddenly, Belang (their friend) came to the scene on a motorcycle. Belang broke up the fight at that moment,” he said while reading his witness statement during his defence against the charge of murdering Nhaveen.
Ragesuthen said he, Gokulan, and another accused helped carry the injured accused back home to get treatment.
He said he then saw Belang take Nhaveen away on his motorcycle while Previin left on his own motorcycle, and he did not know what happened to them after that.
The man also admitted to mocking Nhaveen earlier along with another accused at a burger stall, though he could not recall the contents, and claimed that Nhaveen came with Previin to Jalan Kaki Bukit to ask why they had mocked Nhaveen, leading to the scuffle between them.
Answering questions from Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari, Ragesuthen also denied that he, Gokulan, and the two other accused subsequently went to Padang Openg and continued the attack on Nhaveen.
Asked whether throughout the previous trial he had ever raised the fact that the accused’s friend passed out after being hit by Previin, Ragesuthan admitted that the matter had never been told in court.
Mohd Amril: No such testimony was presented at the prosecution stage that the accused’s friend was injured after being hit by Previin. Ragesuthan: I told the police. Mohd Amril: No, during the prosecution, we never even heard that the accused’s friend was injured and passed out, right? Ragesuthan: Right. Mohd Amril: So you agree this is the first time you are informing us that, first, the accused’s friend was hit by Previin and second, the accused’s friend passed out? Ragesuthan: Yes.
Ragesuthen also said he did not manhandle Previin, including trying to put him in a “neck lock,” but instead only held Previin while trying to break up the fight.
He also denied calling Nhaveen’s mother, T. Shanti, on the night of the incident to tell her that Nhaveen would not be returned until “the matter/issue is settled,” and denied mocking Nhaveen using insulting words including “potte” (effeminate/sissy).
Meanwhile, Gokulan said in his witness statement that he saw Previin hit another accused on the face with a helmet until he passed out on Jalan Kaki Bukit before hearing a loud scream and going to see what was happening.
He also disagreed with the prosecution’s suggestion that he and the three other accused beat Previin on the night of the incident or continued the attack on Nhaveen at Padang Openg.
During today’s proceedings, another accused also gave a nearly identical witness statement. The prosecution was handled by Mohd Amril, Yazid Mustaqim, and Noor Azura Zulkiflee, while the four accused were represented by lawyers Maanveer Singh Dhillon, R. Thevan, and Lim Sheng Zhe.
Previously, the Court of Appeal ordered Ragesuthen, Gokulan, and two other individuals who were minors at the time of the incident to enter their defene on the charge of murdering Nhaveen after allowing the prosecution’s appeal against the High Court’s decision to acquit and discharge them on October 3, 2023.
The four accused were also ordered to enter their defence on the charge of injuring Nhaveen’s friend, Previin, near the Karpal Singh Learning Centre on Jalan Kaki Bukit, Gelugor, between 11 pm and 12 midnight on June 9, 2017.
Nhaveen passed away on June 15, 2017, after six days of treatment at the Penang Hospital due to severe injuries he suffered in the incident.
The trial before Judge Datuk Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid continues tomorrow.
