Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Lots of things happened since I last updated the news 4 days ago. So, here we go:
Muthuraja confirmed dead:
Latest info from police says they have confirmed that Indian businessman Muthuraja is indeed dead, based on some evidence and information from the suspects. This is bad news for the second wife Usharani who arrived from Chennai yesterday to meet the police.
The wife of a missing Indian businessman said to have links with the main suspect in the murder of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya arrived in Malaysia Wednesday in her quest to find her husband.
S. Usharani, 24, has not given up hope that her 37-year-old husband A. Muthuraja, who went missing after meeting a Banting-based lawyer early this year, would be found alive.
About an hour after her arrival from Chennai at about 9am, Usharani was accompanied by Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam to the Kuala Langat police headquarters near here.
Wearing a Punjabi suit, Usharani looked calm as she spoke to the police.
It is believed that Usharani would be staying in Manikavasagam’s house as the MP feared for her safety.
It was conveyed to his second wife yesterday morning as well:
His wife, S. Usharani, 24, said Banting police told her in a meeting this morning the suspects nabbed earlier for the murder of cosmetics queen Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others had confessed to murdering her husband.
The suspects were all workers at the farm.
Speaking to reporters at the scene of the murders in Ladang Gadong here, Usharani said her husband’s parents, along with his younger brother, were expected to come to Malaysia next week to provide DNA samples for comparison with evidence collected from the scene.
She, however, declined to reveal how and when her husband was murdered based on the discussion she had with the Banting police.
Usharani, upon learning that her husband was dead, also promised she would reveal all on the two lawyer brothers, who are among the murder suspects, at a Press conference tomorrow.
She went to the Banting police station to meet Special Branch chief ASP Nor Imran Abdul Rahman soon after arriving at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) this morning.
Earlier at the airport, Usharani said she came here to find out the status of the police investigation into her spouse’s disappearance. She had lodged a missing person report on Sept 8 but left for Chennai, India, on the same day, claiming to fear for her safety.
It was her police report that led the breakthrough into the disappearance of Sosilawati and three others.
Speaking to reporters at the airport, Usharani confirmed mentioning the name of the farm in Banting, owned by the lawyer brothers, which she and her husband had visited last December.
Both siblings and at least three of the farm workers have been arrested for the murder of Sosilawati and three others, including a lawyer, a banker and her driver.
Police had also arrested two more suspects in connection with Muthuraja’s disappearance.
Usharani’s husband, who had several business dealings with the two brothers, had been missing since he came to Malaysia on Jan 18 after receiving a call from one of the brothers.
Usharani confirmed the only report she made about her husband in Malaysia was on Sept 8. She did not lodge a missing person report with the Chennai police although she had contacted the Interpol liaison officer there about his disappearance in February.
Usharani had also faxed letters and documents about her husband to the Indian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur seeking help to trace him.
On reports that her husband has another wife in India, Usharani said she had no knowledge about the other woman and it was more important for her to find out about her husbands fate.
Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam, who was at the airport to accompany Usharani to the Banting police station, told reporters they would also try to see Selangor police chief DCP Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar on the matter.
“We are also trying to see Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar. It has been 14 days since she lodged the police report, she has the right to know what’s going on.”
Manikavasagam said he was helping Usharani after several politicians in Tamil Nadu, India, contacted him to assist the woman on a humanitarian basis.
He said a local NGO and the Indian High Commission would also assist Usharani during her stay here, adding that she was expected to be in the country until Sunday.
Case status
So far, four other cases are being investigated, in addition to the four recent victims. They are Chennai businessman Muthuraja, wife of Balasundram named Selvi, contractor Shafik Abdullah, 37, and a friend of his from Kedah.
The AG has returned the investigation papers, asking more investigations to be done:
The Attorney-General has returned investigation papers into the murder of cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others to the police, and asked them to probe the case further.
Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has also given several specific instructions to the police on the required probe and follow-up.
The A-G Chambers’ prosecution division head Datuk Tun Abd Majid Tun Hamzah, who confirmed that the investigation papers were submitted on Tuesday, said the A-G had also asked the police to investigate other cases said to be linked to the suspects.
“The Attorney-General found that many issues needed further and deeper investigation. He had given certain instructions for the police to carry out.
“The Attorney-General has also asked police to investigate cases which are said to be linked with suspects of this case. Investigation papers were returned to the police on the same day,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
This comes after the police said they were confident since had “gathered strong evidence” last week:
Police are expected to submit their report on the murders of cosmetics queen Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others to the Attorney-General’s Chambers next week, Bukit Aman CID chief Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said.
Saying police were confident that they had gathered “strong evidence” to bring the suspects to justice, he said, police also believed they had solved the case.
“We are confident that we have a strong case,” he told reporters at the Dang Wangi police headquarters here today.
The full report is expected to take 2 weeks, since DNA profiling will take some time according to Chemistry Department:
DNA analyses to identify victims in criminal cases can be a painstaking process and need time to complete, Chemistry Department director-general N. Hithaya Jeevan said. He said this include the murders of cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others. “We expect that the process can be completed in the near future. However, we cannot provide any time frame when we can hand over the results to the police.
“The time taken to complete the DNA profiling depends on the amount of samples available,” he said told Bernama.
Among the murder weapons used was a cricket bat:
Police today revealed that a cricket bat found in Sungai Panchau may have been among the weapons used to murder Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.
Meanwhile, the police also denied some of the reports published in the newspapers and provided details of the recent murders as confessed by the suspect:
He also reiterated his reminder to the media not to go overboard in reporting the case by publishing reports based on speculation or unverified information. Mohd Bakri said that there were too many reports quoting sources which contradicted one another which, he said, could cause the reporters or editors to be called in to explain their reports when the case was up for trial in court.
“Claims like the victims’ throats were slit, that 17 people might have been murdered, that the victims were lured with cheque, and that rivers were filled with hundreds of bone fragments and various other reports are based on speculations and not a reflection of the actual incident.
“Don’t speculate because it will affect police investigations. The thing is, based on the confession by the suspects, Sosilawati and her three friends had been tied, beaten and stabbed to death before their bodies were burnt and ashes thrown into the river,” he said.
He also said that only eight suspects were arrested so far, including two lawyers.
Mohd Bakri also revealed that workers for the lawyer were said to be obsessed with their employer and that some had been working with the suspect for 15 years.
“The main suspect has never been conferred with a Datuk title and his assets have been frozen. The suspect had not asked for any ransom from the victims’ families,” he said.
Police says cases against lawyers never been abandoned. In fact, some of cases being investigated involves the suspect:
Selangor police chief DCP Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar, in statement today, said the State police have never abandoned any investigation involving lawyers.
He said in fact, a task force has been set up to specifically look into cases involving lawyers.
“This task force will be in charge for investigating any reports lodged against lawyers in general,” he said.
It was learnt that the task force will meet monthly to report the status of investigations and also to discuss the cases.
Khalid also revealed that over the last 10 years, Selangor police have opened 72 investigation papers against lawyers involved in cheating and fraudulent cases.
“I would also like to say that among the 72 cases, several of them were against the main lawyer suspect involved in the Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya murder case.”
The state police have also so far charged six lawyers and a ‘runner’. One of the lawyers charged is the main suspect in Sosilawati’s case.
“All of them were involved in 10 cases involving fraud,” said Khalid.
He also confirmed that they have received seven police reports against the main lawyer suspect.
“Of the seven, one has been taken to court and awaiting trial, another has been classified as NFA (No Further Action) while the other cases are still under investigation.”
Khalid also denied allegations that police have delayed in acting on reports lodged against lawyers.
“People must understand that commercial cases generally take up a lot of time as it involves many documents and witnesses who need to be questioned.”
Victim’s house splashed with paint
Meanwhile, one strange incident is that one of the victim (Noorhisham Mohammad, the CIMB bank officer)’s house was splashed with red paint yesterday. Police thinks its a case of mistaken identity. UMNO Youth is offering legal help to assist this family during the court case.
The Suspects
Earlier today, the 8 suspects were taken to KL hospital, possibly for DNA profiling:
The eight suspects in the murder of cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others were taken to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital Wednesday for what is believed to be DNA profiling.
They were taken to the Emergency and Trauma Department of the hospital around 3pm in a police truck escorted by two patrol cars from the Bukit Jalil detention centre.
Seven of the suspects, in orange-coloured lockup attire and one, in the purple-coloured attire, were taken into a room where it is believed DNA samples were obtained from them.
They were seen leaving the premises about 5pm under tight police security.
Hundreds of people, among them journalists, doctors, nurses and patients, watched as the suspects arrived at the hospital and departed for the detention centre later.
The main suspect was also taken back to the law firm to collect more documents. The suspect was also brought to river and police may have recovered more things (among them suspected to be a gold bangle).
The main suspect in the Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya murder case was brought for a second time to his office in Banting to retrieve more documents believed to contain important evidence.
At 2.25pm yesterday, police were seen entering the office with the suspect and two women, believed to be his secretaries.
About 30 minutes later, police walked out of the office with the suspect and some papers.
Last week, police confiscated seven central processing units and several documents from the law office.
… Police yesterday rushed the suspect to the Sungai Lang water channel, about one kilometre from the law office.
The police marine scuba unit was then assembled to search for a handphone believed to belong to one of the victims. However, the two-hour search did not yield any such luck.
During the search, the suspect was kept in the patrol car under strict supervision.
More suspects were picked up by the police in the last few days:
Police picked up just after midnight last night the second suspect in the case of the millionaire from India who went missing in Banting, Selangor, this year.
The 21-year-old man was held in Kampung Laksamana, Batu Caves, near here at 12.15am, Selangor police chief Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar said in his Facebook page.
The arrest comes in the wake of the arrest of the first suspect, a 34-year-old man, in Taman Wilayah, Selayang, yesterday evening.
… The two suspects are believed to be linked to a lawyer who is the prime suspect in the murders of Sosilawati, 47, her driver Kamaruddin Shamsudin, 44, lawyer Ahmad Kamil Abdul Karim, 32, and CIMB Bank officer Noorhisham Mohammad, 38, in Ladang Gadong, Tanjong Sepat, near Banting.
They are suspected of extorting money from the family of the businessman and have been remanded for a week:
Police yesterday obtained an order from the Circuit Magistrate’s Court here to remand for a week two suspects in an extortion case involving the wife of a millionaire from India who was reported missing in Banting early this year.
Magistrate Hurman Hussain issued the remand order to facilitate police investigations.
Both suspects are believed to have extorted RM100,000 from the millionaire’s wife, S.Usharani, 24, who is also from India, as a 10 per cent advance of a RM1-million ransom to secure the release of her husband, Allal Kanthan Muthuraja, 34.
The main suspects had their remands extended:
Police have obtained a court order to remand for another week until Sept 25 three of the eight suspects in the murder of a cosmetics queen and three other people in Ladang Gadong near Banting,
Selangor.The order to further remand the trio, two of them lawyers, was issued by Magistrate Mohd Azeli Ibrahim at the Bukit Jalil temporary detention centre here where all the suspects are being held.
The remand period for the five other suspects had been extended until Thursday (Sept 23), said a police spokesman.
The Defence Lawyers
This is going to be tough for the appointed lawyers. If lawyers are not hired by the suspects, the court will eventually have to appoint a lawyer for the defendants. Lawyers have to perform their job. I hope these folks are not threatened or hampered from doing their job. As I said in one of my replies to commenters, its possible that a lawyer may suggest to his client to plead guilty and get it over with, instead of trying to prove innocence or try to find way out.
Lawyer Ravi Nekoo has been appointed as counsel for two brothers held under remand in the investigations into the murders of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.
Ravi, who is from Hakem Arabi & Associates, said the brothers’ family appointed him on Sept 12.
“We have since formed a defence team,” he said in a press statement here yesterday.
He said the firm had written a letter to Kuala Lumpur CID chief Senior Asst Comm II Datuk Ku Chin Wah informing him of the appointment on Sept 14.
Ravi said the firm had also sent letters requesting an appointment with ACP Ku and access to the brothers but there had been no response.
The Farm
The Veterinary Services Department had retrieved 12 animals from the farm but I wonder why the dogs were killed by the municipal council:
Nine pedigree dogs, belonging to the lawyer brothers from here, were put to sleep by Kuala Langat District Council officers yesterday.
Six Rottweilers, two Dalmations and a bulldog were put down by lethal tranquilisers at the poultry farm in Sungai Gadung, believed to the scene of a quadruple murder.
The officers were seen entering the farm at 8.15am and left about two hours later with the carcasses in a pick-up lorry.
According to sources, since the murders were uncovered, the hungry dogs which were left unattended became aggressive and attacked other animals in the farm, such as goats, ducks and chickens.The source said police had told the district council to catch the dogs but the team despatched to the area decided to put the dogs down as they were aggressive.
The carcasses were taken to the Sungai Sedu landfill in Telok Datuk, near here, to be buried.
Meanwhile, scores of local and foreign tourists on their way to a nearby longan farm and curious onlookers tried to get into the farm where the murders allegedly took place.They were, however, turned away by policemen.
The rescued animals:
The Selangor Wildlife Department has raided the farm where cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others were allegedly murdered and rescued 16 birds.
Six officers were seen entering the farm at noon under the watchful eye of police personnel stationed nearby.
The team, led by an officer known only as Jalal, found 16 birds of several unprotected species at the farm.
“These birds had been left with minimum food and water and looked fragile. We came after we heard reports that exotic meat was sold here,” he told reporters, adding that it found four adult peacocks, two common mynahs, four spotted doves, five magpies and one bird whose species had not been identified.
The team later took the birds to the department. However, Jalal declined to comment if there was exotic meat at the farm.
Selangor Wildlife Deparment director Rahmat Topani said no action would be taken because no laws had been breached for rearing these birds.
It was earlier reported that the lawyer brothers implicated in Sosilawati’s murder had used the farm to entertain and treat their friends to exotic meat.
And the angry animal activists:
In KLANG, animal activists are crying foul over the killing of nine dogs belonging to the brothers.
Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better adoption coordinator Christine Lai said the Kuala Langat District Council should have called the Veterinary Services Department, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or PAWS before putting down the dogs.
“It is disgraceful that the dogs had been left to starve for days without food,” she said.
Dog lover Myza Nordin said she was not convinced by the council’s excuse that the dogs were aggressive and that it was unfair to kill them in their territory.
Independent rescuer Leigh Chen said the council “took the easiest way out” without consulting any animal welfare organisation.
It was reported that six Rott weilers, two Dalmatians and a bulldog were put to sleep by the council on Sunday morning.
According to sources, police had asked the council to remove the starving dogs from the farm.
However, the council decided to put the dogs down, claiming that they were aggressive and going after the poultry and livestock in the farm.
A bit more news on the farm:
… front gate of a farm, owned by the prime suspect in the murder of cosmetics millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others, about 600 meters from the main road into Gadong Estate or Ladang Gadong.
The farm, where Sosilawati and three others were believed to have been killed, was guarded by two policemen, who did not allow the media to venture further down the road.
The road leading to the farm was closed to the public and Press members since a week ago.
The farm is fenced up with a two-metre high brick wall with the main entrance equipped with an automatic gate system while further inside another fence was seen about 100 metres away.
There were “no entry” and “beware of fierce dogs” signs at the main gate.
The farm has a building which looked like a chalet, a shed and a gazebo while betel vines arrayed the entrance path. Several cattle were also seen at the farm.
Coverage on Muthuraja: wives Usharani and Ramalakshmi, and family members
Usharani was taken around by MP Manikavasagam to the crime areas:
Usharani, who had flown in from India, today met the police in Banting over the disappearance of her husband.
She had also gone to have a look at the farm in Ladang Gadong belonging to a suspect in the murder of Sosilawati and three men. She was accompanied by Kapar Member of Parliament S. Manikavasagam.
Manikavasagam and Usharani, who came to the farm at 11.35am, were not allowed to enter the premises by policemen guarding the main entrance.
When approached by reporters, Manikavasagam said he hoped that Muthuraja’s family members, especially his father and siblings, would come to Malaysia next week to assist police in verifying the DNA of Muthuraja.
Manikavasagam said that when he accompanied Usharani to a meeting with Kuala Langat district police deputy chief DSP Rizani Ismail, he was informed that police had recovered 300 pieces of bone fragments during the investigation into the murder of Sosilawati and the three men.
News reports had said that the bone fragments were recovered from Sungai Panchau.
Manikavasagam brought Usharani to Sungai Panchau and Sungai Kanchong Laut located about one and two kilometres, respectively, from Ladang Gadong.
He said Usharani was brought to the three places and to meet with the police to learn of the developments in the investigation into the disappearance of her husband.
He also said that Usharani had expressed the intention to remain in Malaysia for a week and that the place of her stay was being kept confidential for her safety
A bit more on the dead Chennai businessman’s case, from yesterday’s news:
.. . Although the 37-year-old businessman had told his second wife S. Usharani, 24, that he would be back within a day or two after his visit, his suitcase was filled with clothes.
Usharani, who showed the suitcase to The Star at the home she shared with Muthuraja here, said it had been full of clothes.
“Some of the clothes were new with their price tags still attached. His insulin and diabetes medication are also intact,” she said.
Muthuraja’s brother Dr Kasi Viswanathan had brought the suitcase back to India in March. Muthuraja had gone missing during his visit on Jan 18 to meet the lawyer brothers implicated in cosmetic millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya’s murder.
… Usharani left for Malaysia late last night to lodge a second missing person’s report at the Banting district police headquarters and meet Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam, who had promised to help her.
She said she would also be bringing with her a recording of a telephone conversation she had with a man demanding money if she wanted to speak to her husband soon after his disappearance.
“I went through hell after my husband disappeared with this man demanding money.
“He said I had no other choice if I wanted him back,” she said.
Dr Kasi is believed to have paid the man RM80,000 around April for his brother’s purported release.
Meanwhile, Muthuraja’s family had expressed their anger at both Usharani and Muthuraja’s first wife S. Ramalakshmi for having a catfight in the media.
“They keep mentioning his assets. Is that all they want?
“My brother has disappeared and that should be the focus here,” Dr Kasi said.
He added that his family had respected Ramalakshmi until she started fighting with Usharani in the open.
“If she really cared for my brother, she would have immediately come to be with us,” he said.
Earlier interview with Usharani is below:
Missing Indian millionaire A. Muthuraja’s wife is expected to arrive in Malaysia this week to assist police in the investigations into his disappearance.
S. Usharani, 24, said a politician and a non-governmental officer had been in contact with her in Chennai and had advised her to come here.
“The politician has even offered to buy me the airline ticket. I should be arriving in Malaysia in two or three days’ time,” she said in a telephone interview.
Usharani said the last time she was in Malaysia was in 2006 prior to her trip here on Sept 7 when she lodged a missing person’s report on her husband.Coincidentally, she stayed with a relative in Banting.
Usharani then took a swipe at newspaper reports stating that her husband had been married before to a woman identified as S. Ramalakshmi.
“This is a lie. I married my husband in 2006 and we have a 3-year-old daughter.“We were married in a temple in Thirupathi in Tamilnadu, India.”
Although they did not legally register their marriage, she claimed that her husband’s family accepted her as his wife.
Usharani claimed she was not surprised if more women came forward claiming to be her husband’s wives or girlfriends.“My husband is rich. He has numerous properties and these women are gold-diggers. They just want a share of his property.
“Where were all these women when my husband went missing? I was the one who was desperately trying to locate him.
“Even his luggage, which my brother-in-law retrieved from Malaysia, was sent to me.”
She said as far as she was concerned, Muthuraja had not taken another woman as his wife.
Usharani said when she first heard of her husband’s disappearance, she contacted the Indian High Commission in Malaysia and lodged a missing person’s report with Interpol in India.
She claimed that a Malaysian Interpol officer called her to say there was no missing person’s report on her husband in any police station here.
“He also told me that another police officer would contact me but until today no one has called.”
She also wanted to know about the progress of the investigations on her husband’s disappearance.
Usharani said she rushed back from Malaysia after lodging the report on Sept 8 as she feared for her life.
“But now that the politician and NGO have assured my safety, I feel I should come to assist in the investigations.”
In an earlier report, Usharani said the last she heard from her husband was on Jan 18 when he called from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to say that he had safely arrived in Malaysia from Chennai.
He was here allegedly to meet the lawyer brothers who were implicated in the murders of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.
Usharani had said then that her husband had known the brothers for almost a decade and they had gone into several businesses together.
She said her husband came to Malaysia on Jan 18 after receiving a call from one of the brothers.
Famous la Mike!
Interview with Muthuraja’s father:
The father of missing Indian businessman A. Muthuraja believes his son is still alive and is being held against his will by some unscrupulous people.
E. Allal Kathan said his son was close to the two Banting-based lawyer brothers arrested in connection with the murder of cosmetics queen Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya but he did not think they would hurt him.
“My son and the brothers were very close friends and they would not hurt him at any cost. I am a pious man and I have a gut feeling that my son is being held captive somewhere by some unscrupulous people,” the 62-year-old retired police inspector-turned-farmer said when contacted at Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu.
Muthuraja’s younger brothers Vijay and Dr Kasi Viswanathan said they too strongly believed the lawyer brothers did not harm him.
Dr Kasi Viswanathan, a medical doctor, said Muthuraja had had two businesses in partnership with the brothers. They ran a restaurant together in Banting and Muthuraja also had a student recruitment agency with one of the brothers.
However, both the businesses had gone bust.
When asked about the allegations that Muthuraja might have been involved in illegal activities with the lawyer brothers, Dr Kasi Viswanathan said:
“We don’t believe it is true because as soon as the restaurant and student exchange businesses ended, there was no exchange of money between our brother and his lawyer friends.”
The disappearance of Indian businessman A. Muthuraja has the makings of a television soap opera — the latest twist being a 36-year-old school teacher in India claiming to be his lawfully-wedded wife.
S. Ramalakshmi from Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, said the 24-year-old woman who came to Malaysia to report that Muthuraja had gone missing on Sept 8, was not legally his wife.
In the report, S. Usharani had said that Muthuraja was her husband.
Muthuraja, believed to be a multi-millionaire, disappeared after coming to Malaysia to meet the two lawyer brothers who were arrested in connection with the murder of cosmetics tycoon Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three others.
Ramalakshmi does not have any children with Muthuraja, 37.
According to Ramalakshmi, who spoke from Tirunelveli, hers was an arranged marriage.
“Muthuraja and I married in 2001 in a grand ceremony in Chennai which was attended by many dignitaries and politicians,” the elementary school teacher said when contacted in India yesterday.
Ramalakshmi said although she and her husband had been estranged for the past three years, there was a possibility of a reconciliation.
Ramalakshmi from Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, claims that she is the wife of Muthuraja, and not Usharani (above). The girl at right is Usharani’s daughter.
“My father-in-law told me that things between us would be sorted out after his return from Malaysia,” she said.Ramalakshmi said she had not seen her husband for three years until about a week before his trip to Malaysia in January.
“I was walking to school and he passed by in his car while on the way to his estate, which is not very far from where I teach.
“We did not speak but he smiled at me,” said a sobbing Ramalakshmi.
First marriage?: An i nvitation card said to have been used to announce Muthuraja’s marriage to Ramalakshmi.
She said Muthuraja would go on long trips to Russia and Malaysia from the time they were married to tend to his businesses there.“He would always come back and I was used to not having him around all the time even before we became estranged,” she said.
She also said Muthuraja had brought the two lawyer brothers to her father’s house in Tirunelveli for a meal about five years ago.
Asked what she thought about the turn of events, Ramalakshmi said: “There is a strong possibility that my husband was involved in questionable activities.
“He doesn’t even have to come back to me or acknowledge me. I only want my husband to be alive.”
Extorting money from businessman‘s family?:
There seems to be more intrigue in the disappearance of Indian millionaire A. Muthuraja.
His wife S. Usharani claims that Muthuraja’s brother Kasi had paid a Malaysian contact RM80,000 in April for his brother’s safe return to India.
“A person called Elil from Batu Caves called Kasi and me some time in April and told us that my husband was in police custody over a drug-related case.
“He said that RM80,000 was required for my husband’s release and even booked a ticket on a night flight for Muthuraja on the purported day of release,” Usharani said when contacted in Ramapuram, Chennai.
She claimed that Elil had told Kasi they had to wait for Muthuraja to be charged first before making the necessary payments to secure his release.
Muthuraja disappeared on Jan 18 after allegedly coming to Malaysia to see the two lawyer brothers implicated in Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya’s murder.
She said Kasi came to Malaysia to hand over the money to Elil and bought himself a ticket on the same flight that Muthuraja was supposed to be on two days later.
“But my husband was not on the flight and Kasi came back alone,” she said.
Usharani claimed that Elil had also waited at the airport and had brought along Muthuraja’s ticket. But when Muthuraja did not turn up, he told Kasi there was trouble with the police.
She said Kasi had called Elil upon his return and was told the authorities had not released Muthuraja as promised.
“Elil also said that the middleman who had promised Muthuraja’s release must have cheated us of the money,” said Usharani.
She also alleged that Elil had hinted Muthuraja might not be in police custody and told Kasi that he should place a missing person’s advertisement in Malaysian newspapers.
Asked whether she had mentioned this in the report she lodged at the Banting police station on Sept 8, Usharani said she had forgotten to do so.
Balasundram
Balasundram regrets dealing with the lawyers.
Motor workshop owner P. Balasandram believes that his biggest mistake was allowing the lawyer brothers allegedly behind millionaire Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya’s murder to talk him into lending money.
“Not only did I lose money in the venture but my wife’s life became the ultimate sacrifice,” said Balasandram.
His wife T. Selvi was slashed to death by two men in front of their Banting home in April last year.
Selangor police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar had said that the lawyer brothers, who used to have a money-lending business with Bala san dram, had been implicated in Selvi’s murder.
Balasandram said the lawyers had acted as the “middle person” and witnesses for three loan agreements signed in 2006.
However, he said only one borrower had repaid his loan in full.
“One borrower has only paid half of his loan while another who had taken the biggest loan at RM80,000, only paid RM15,000,” he claimed.
It is believed the RM80,000 borrower is a businesswoman with links to the brothers.
Balasandram claimed that despite her refusing to repay the remaining amount, the lawyers had “protected” her.
When he sent a letter of demand to the brothers and the borrowers, they called him and his wife to their legal office in November 2007.
“The woman who borrowed the RM80,000 was there. They threatened to harm my family if I continued to pressure them for my money,” he said.
Balasandram said he decided not to take legal action after his wife’s murder as he feared for the safety of his three children aged between 14 and 20.
Bar Council comments
Following up on earlier press conference, the Bar Council reiterated that they can’t be monitoring the personal lives of the lawyers. Bar Council chief Regunath said that the police station is near to the law firm. Even they can’t “smell” the crime, how to expect Bar Council which 100km away to “smell” anything (heard this on TV3 news). Sounds so melodramatic. Catch their press conference on The Star online here.
The Bar Council cannot go around ‘sniffing’ into the private lives of its members to uncover wrongdoing and can only initiate action against a lawyer if the complaint relates to his professional conduct.
“Any criminal conduct that falls outside the scope of a lawyer’s professional practice is beyond the Bar Council’s jurisdiction. Blaming the Bar won’t solve the problem,” said the council’s president Ragunath Kesavan.
“Other enforcement agencies such as the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara Malaysia or the Inland Revenue Board, have the mandate to conduct other investigations,” he said adding the council had no authority to inquire into the private lives of its members.
He told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that the Bar’s powers as a statutory body were ‘very, very limited’ in that it could only take action on matters related to the professional conduct of its members.
He added that it would be unreasonable to expect the Bar to ‘sniff’ out alleged criminal activity by any of it’s members as even the police do not do so.
“If there are any errant lawyers, we don’t want to see them out there but I must reiterate that we have to ensure justice is done. Not only for those remanded but also for the families of the victims,” he said.
Ragunath’s comments today were in apparent response to a laundry list of criticisms following the grisly Sosilawati murders for which two lawyers, who are also brothers, have been detained as suspects. Four persons including cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya were believed to have been murdered on a farm in Banting, Selangor said to be owned by the suspects.
Disbarred in November
The Federal Territory branch of right-wing Malay rights NGO Pekida last week blamed the Bar for Sosilawati’s murders. They accused the Bar of being responsible for the murders by allowing bad hats to continue practising law.
The Islamic body held a demonstration (below) calling for all Bar Council office-bearers to resign and allow a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the Bar’s failure in keeping out ‘bad’ lawyers.
Ragunath confirmed that the two lawyer suspects involved in the quadruple murders had been disbarred in November last year by the Bar’s Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board but were allowed to continue practising after they obtained a stay of execution from the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
He said the pair temporarily lost their right to practice over a land deal through which they were alleged to have engaged in fraudulent activities. However, t was unlikely, he said, that that land deal was related to the four murders.
Ragunath said the Bar did not condone any form of misconduct by any of its members but stressed that they will make sure the suspects are provided due representation. “No matter how outrageous or upset we are with a case, each person has a right to representation,” he said.
Ragunath said the Bar maintained stringent monitoring of its members with an average of 30 lawyers disbarred annually over the past five years for either cheating or committing serious criminal offences.
He said the Bar’s Advocates and Solicitors Disciplinary Board is so strict that some members of the Bar before it have even complained that it wasd biased against them.
DAP Unhappy
More info from DAP claiming the suspects are not DAP members, rebutting the wild allegation by the useless newspaper:
Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San today said Utusan Malaysia should have checked before publishing allegations that the suspects in the murder of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and three men are DAP members.
“I have checked our records and with our branches in Banting. There are no records of the suspects ever being members of DAP or even life members as alleged. They could have called us,” said the Selangor DAP secretary.
In the report on Tuesday, the daily quoted former PKR Youth vice-president Mohd Zahid Md Arip as referring to the DAP as “hypocrites” for being slow to condemn the murders.
“Does their silence have something to do with the claims that the main suspects are DAP life members? If it is true, it is clear that DAP is a hypocrite party that fights for the rights of a certain race only,” Utusan reported him as saying.
Mohd Zahid is now a supreme council member in Malay rights NGO Perkasa.
Lau (picture) lashed out at the Malay daily for turning the brutal murder into a political issue.
“We believe the police should be allowed to complete their investigations and the law to take its course,” he said.
Earlier this morning, Lau lodged a police report against both the daily and Mohd Zahid for criminal defamation.
With him was DAP’s Senator S. Ramakrishnan, who echoed Lau’s sentiments.
“Utusan Malaysia should have acted more responsibly,” he said.
He pointed out that there were many questionable issues about the case particularly about the lapse in police investigations in previous reports against the suspects.
“If the police had acted earlier the victims may even be alive today,” he said.
Yet, he pointed out that the daily was more interested in targeting the DAP.
Ramakrishnan said the actions of Utusan Malaysia only point to the desperation of Umno which owns the daily.
Yesterday, DAP publicity chief Tony Pua also urged Prime Minister and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak to reprimand Utusan Malaysia and order it to apologise.
Pua said the party was considering legal action against the newspaper.
DAP is also planning to milk some points in terms of politics by trying to raise the murder issue in Parliament. So says Lim Kit Siang. Obviously the speaker or deputy speaker will rule against the motion as the case will be on-going by then.
Murugiah SMS rumours
T Murugiah who earlier had mentioned that one of the suspects inquired about joining MIC, is the victim of an SMS circulating linking him to the suspects:
Police yesterday dismissed rumours that the house and clinic of Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk T. Murugiah were raided in connection with investigations into the murders of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya and her three aides.
Federal Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin also denied allegations that Murugiah was linked to the murder investigations.
Rumours have been rife that police had raided Murugiah’s office in Putrajaya and his family’s diabetic centre in Jalan Ipoh on Saturday.
Several text messages were also circulated linking Murugiah to one of the lawyers implicated in the murders.The text messages allege that the 41-year-old lawyer from Banting had funded Murugiah in politics and had built the diabetic centre for him.
Murugiah rubbished the claims.
“They’re all rumours. No such thing happened.”Murugiah said it was impossible that the lawyer had funded his clinic as he had never met the suspect until recently.
He said the only time he met the lawyer was on Sept 8 at a function in Banting where the latter expressed interest in joining MIC.
“He was introduced to me as a ‘Datuk’, so I just talked to him for awhile. That was it.”Murugiah said the rumours were a political ploy to tarnish his image.
On Friday, Murugiah lodged a police report in Ipoh over an SMS linking him to the lawyer.
When asked if he knew who was out to ruin his reputation, Murugiah said police were investigating and they should have the answers soon.
Sarina
Also strikingly weird is the death of Sosilawati’s friend Sarina, who commited suicide days ago. It is said that her death was due to family problem and not linked to Sosilawati.
Police have denied that there is any link between the death of Aveer Cosmetics founder Sarina Jaafar and the murder of Datuk Sosilawati Lawiya, said Fede ral CID director Comm Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin.
He said police found no malicious elements in Sarina’s death and believed it to be a suicide.
Comm Mohd Bakri added that police were also “very close” to tying up the Sosilawati case and were in touch with the Attorney-General’s Chambers to finalise the investigation.
It was reported that a relative found Sarina, 45, hanging from the ceiling in her bedroom at her house in Bukit Mertajam on Saturday.
