A college student accused of murdering a husband and wife who died in a motorcycle accident near the Great Eastern Tower in Jalan Ampang has applied to the High Court here to have the charges against him dismissed.
Danish Raman Kamar Kumaresan, 24, filed the notice of motion on Wednesday through Messrs Selvam Shanmugam & Partners, seeking to challenge the prosecution’s decision to charge him under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
In the application, the accused claimed that using the murder charge in a road accident case was unreasonable, made in bad faith and inconsistent with Parliament’s intention, while also alleging that it breached Articles 5 and 8 of the Federal Constitution.
He argued that offences involving deaths caused by reckless, dangerous driving or driving under the influence of alcohol are specifically provided under the Road Transport Act 1987, including Sections 41 and 44 of the Act.
The applicant claimed that applying Section 302 of the Penal Code in a road accident case without an element of intent to kill went against fundamental principles of criminal law, and therefore the charge should be set aside.
He also requested the court to allow him to be granted bail while awaiting the disposal of the case, based on provisions under the Road Transport Act.
During the hearing before Judge Datuk Aslam Zainuddin, lawyer S Selvam, who represented Danish, said the defence had received a preliminary objection from the prosecution and requested a short date to submit a reply.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamad Fadhly Mohd Zamry confirmed that the prosecution had filed its objection and did not oppose the request for another date to allow the defence to respond.
The court then fixed Aug 17 for the hearing of the notice of motion.
Mohamad Fadhly later told reporters that the prosecution objected to the application as the defence’s request was allegedly not properly filed and did not comply with provisions under the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.
On May 15, Danish, who was driving a Toyota Vios, was charged at the Magistrate’s Court here with two counts of murdering a married couple who were riding a motorcycle during an accident on Jalan Ampang.
He was accused of causing the deaths of A Doraisingam, 61, and his wife A Menagah, 56, along Jalan Ampang from KLCC towards Ampang Point at about 5.30am on May 2.
The charges were framed under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the death penalty or imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years upon conviction, with a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane if the death sentence is not imposed.
