PETALING JAYA: Popular local Tamil artiste and film director known as VJ Emergency has been sentenced to 12 years in jail by the Shah Alam High Court for causing the death of a childhood friend.
The 46-year-old former national MIC Youth Arts and Cultural Bureau chairman, whose real name is Vijayan Palaniappan, pleaded guilty on Friday (March 25) to a reduced charge of causing the death of engineer Seri Ganis Kanapathy Pillay Krishnan, 42, under Section 304(a) of the Penal Code.
He was then ordered by Judicial Commissioner Roszianayati Ahmad to serve the sentence from the date of his arrest in October 2020.
The accused was initially charged in 2020 with murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code, where he claimed trial.
Vijayan's lawyer Datuk N. Sivananthan told The Star that he had sought a reduced charge for his client following the testimonies of 12 witnesses.
Seri Ganis' brother-in-law, S. Thevakumaran Samugam Nadan, who is a police inspector, told The Star that the deceased's family was satisfied with the sentence.
Vijayan, who is also a former chairman of the Malaysian Indian Artist Association and had cut several music albums, was well-known for Tamil songs such as Sudahka Belum and Kiri, Kanan.
He was arrested a day after the charred remains of Seri Ganis was found in the deceased's SUV on Oct 28, 2020 in Kota Warisan, Sepang.
It is learnt that Seri Ganis and Vijayan were close friends since childhood, and they had also ventured into a business together.
On the day of the incident, both men were on an outing together when a heated argument broke out between them.
Witnesses from a nearby workers hostel alerted the police after spotting the victim's Toyota Harrier on fire at a secluded area that was surrounded by undergrowth.
After the fire was put out, a police team recovered a badly burnt body that was later identified as Seri Ganis.
