Colonel Dr R. Kunaseegaran, the former military pathologist sentenced to death for the 2015 murder of Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Kevin Anthony Morais, has filed a review application seeking to overturn his conviction.
Kunaseegaran, 62, submitted the application under Rule 137 of the Federal Court Rules 1995 on November 14, confirmed his lawyers, Datuk N. Sivananthan and Jasmine Cheong. In the notice of motion, he is requesting that the Federal Court re-hear his appeal or grant any other relief it deems appropriate.
In an affidavit supporting the application, Kunaseegaran claimed he suffered “grave injustice” and that he deserved a proper and fair trial.
On July 1 this year, the Federal Court upheld Kunaseegaran’s conviction, along with those of co-accused S. Nimalan, 31, and S. Ravi Chandran, 53, in the murder of Morais. Morais’ body was discovered in a cement-filled oil drum at Persiaran Subang Mewah, Subang Jaya, on September 16, 2015.
While Nimalan and Ravi Chandran had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment—Nimalan receiving 35 years with 12 strokes of the cane, and Ravi Chandran 40 years without caning due to his age—Kunaseegaran’s death sentence remained intact because he had withdrawn his appeal against it.
The High Court originally sentenced six men to death on July 10, 2020, after finding them guilty of killing Morais on September 4, 2015, along Jalan Dutamas Raya Sentul and Jalan USJ 1/6D, Subang Jaya. Subsequent appeals saw the acquittal of three others—R. Dinishwaran, A.K. Thinesh Kumar, and M. Vishwanath.
The Court of Appeal dismissed all appeals on March 14 last year. Kunaseegaran’s review application marks the latest legal development in one of Malaysia’s most high-profile criminal cases.
