'Image of man in CCTV resembles second accused'
Published on: Friday, August 19, 2016
Kuala Lumpur: A witness told the High Court here Thursday that the image of one of two men recorded at a hotel counter, 13 days before deputy public prosecutor Datuk Anthony Kevin Morais was found murdered, resembled the second accused.New Town Hotel, Petaling Jaya, registration counter staff Md Saddam Hossain, 25, based his assumption on the similar physical characteristics between the man and G.Gunasekaran. "The face is the same, at that time he had a beard, this time no, but the person looks alike, the colour (skin tone) and body fits, that is why I said maybe this is the same person," he said under cross-examination by counsel S.Ramesh who is representing Gunasekaran in Kevin Morais' murder case.
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The 28th prosecution witness, a Bangladeshi, who works part-time at the hotel is also a student at a private college here.Md Saddam said the man who resembled the second accused checked in at 8.15am on Sept 3, 2015, before another man arrived and handed cash to him (first man).The witness however said he could not identify the second man who was only communicating with the first man.In response to Ramesh's question on how he was sure that the first man looked similar to the second accused when the CCTV showed him merely taking a glance at him as he was busy doing the registration, the witness said he did not just glance at the man. He said he had talked to him and explained to him about the hotel room rates.
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Md Saddam also denied that he had been asked to identify the second accused as the man in the CCTV prior to the proceeding.During examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin on why he had used the word, "maybe" in saying that the man in the CCTV looked similar to the second accused, the witness said it was because the second accused did not have a beard while the man in the CCTV had a beard.
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"If he has a beard, maybe I would have said this is the person," he said. On June 8, the CCTV recording dated Sept 3, 2015, was played in court. It showed images of six men at New Town Hotel. The images of two of the men were recorded while they were at the registration counter of the hotel while those of four others were recorded as they were coming out of a room at the hotel.Six men - Gunasekaran, 48, R.Dinishwaran, 24, A.K. Thinesh Kumar, 23, M.Vishwanath, 26, S.Nimalan, 23, and S.Ravi Chandaran, 45, claimed trial to murdering Kevin Morais between 7am and 8pm on Sept 4, 2015 between Jalan Dutamas Raya Sentul and No.1 Jalan USJ1/6D, Subang Jaya. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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