PUTRAJAYA: The trial for the murder of aspiring teenage musician T Nhaveen is set to resume after being stalled since 2023, following the Federal Court’s decision to strike out the prosecution’s appeal against the acquittal of the fifth accused.
Deputy public prosecutor Allan Suman Pillai told a three-member bench led by Justice Nordin Hassan that repeated attempts to serve the notice of appeal on S Gopinath, 35, had failed despite efforts to locate him at his last known address.
Seeking the court’s direction, Allan informed the bench that the prosecution had been unable to locate Gopinath.
Nordin, sitting with Justices Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera and Azimah Omar, then struck out the notice of appeal.
The prosecution appealed against Gopinath’s acquittal after the Court of Appeal, on Jan 13 last year, overturned the acquittals of four other accused in the same case and ordered them to enter their defence.
The four – J Ragesuthan, S Gokulan, and two others who were juveniles at the time of the offence – were found to have a case to answer after the appellate court ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against them.
They were acquitted by the High Court in October 2023 but rearrested and remanded following the Court of Appeal’s decision.
Case management has been fixed on July 3 for the High Court to set trial dates.
Nhaveen, 18, died on June 15, 2017 from severe head injuries without regaining consciousness after a brutal assault that sparked nationwide outrage over bullying and homophobic violence.
The offence was allegedly committed near the Karpal Singh Learning Centre in Jalan Kaki Bukit, Bukit Gelugor, between 11pm and midnight on June 9, 2017.
