Seven men were charged in the Magistrate’s Court today over the murder of a 22-year-old man who was allegedly hacked to death outside a restaurant in Pekan Nenas last month.
The accused were identified as L. Puvaman, 22, Jovan Lee Jun Yang, 19, To Zheng Kang, 22, Chan Jia Yi, 19, Lee Ming Chen, 20, Lee Long Teck, 18, and Pang Jun Jie, 28.
All seven indicated that they understood the charge when it was read before Magistrate Nurhafiza Haron. However, no plea was recorded as murder cases fall under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
According to the charge, the accused, together with five other suspects who remain at large, were alleged to have caused the death of 22-year-old R. Arun Kumar.
The offence was allegedly committed in front of a restaurant along Jalan Utama 3, Taman Utama, at approximately 2.45am on May 21.
The prosecution was conducted by Deputy Public Prosecutor Anis Sahira Rosli.
The first five accused were represented by lawyers Mohd Daud Ismail and Hang Lee, while the sixth and seventh accused were represented by D.S. Evensia Mary and Datin Freda Sabapathy respectively.
No bail was offered due to the nature of the charge.
The court fixed July 9 for the next mention of the case and the submission of relevant documents, pending the completion of chemical analysis and post-mortem reports.
The case has attracted public attention following reports that the victim was allegedly attacked with weapons in the early hours of the morning outside the eatery.
