PUTRAJAYA – A former college student escaped the hangman’s noose today after the Court of Appeal set aside his conviction for the murder of a gangster.
A three-member bench led by justice Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, in a unanimous decision, discharged and acquitted P. Dhivyaprabu after ruling that his conviction for murder was not safe.
He said identification of Dhivyaprabu as the person who inflicted the stab wound on the deceased, Muhammad Jeffri Abu Bakar, was unsatisfactory.
He said the court found serious misdirection by the high court judge in fulfilling Section 300 of the Penal Code as well as on the assessment of evidence in support of his findings.
The other two judges were Datuk Wira Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Datuk Nordin Hassan.
Dhivyaprabu, 25, was found guilty of murdering Jeffri, 22, and was sentenced to death by the high court on May 30, 2019.
He was accused of committing the offence in a pub in Publika Hartamas, Sentul, Kuala Lumpur between 4am and 4.15am on January 28, 2017.
The court heard submissions made by Dhivyaprabu’s lead counsel Gooi Soon Seng who said his client and 10 of his friends had gone to the pub to celebrate the birthday of one of his friends.
He said that after the session in the pub, there was an argument with another group, adding that there were about 20 people involved in the fight.
He said in the ensuing brawl, the deceased was stabbed with a three-inch knife. – Bernama, October 1, 2021
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