Three of the five accused being taken to the Magistrate's court in Port Dickson to be charged
PORT DICKSON: Five suspects claimed trial at the Magistrate's Court here to a charge of causing the death by negligence of a man who was partially paralysed.
D. Maharaj, 36; B. Shanmugaservai, 34; Faezatun Arifin, 42; S. Suvipra, 34 and R. Praveena, 31, pleaded not guilty to causing the death of S. Prawinthan, 38, when the charge was read to them before magistrate Uthman Abd Majid.
The five were charged with committing the offence at the pool of a hotel located along Batu 3, Jalan Pantai, around 2 am on July 13.
They were charged under Section 304A of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34 of the same legislation.
Deputy public prosecutor Nadia Ezzati Mohd Zainal told the court that the chemist, post-mortem and forensic reports were not ready and that the prosecution was prepared to offer the accused a bail of RM8,000 each pending remention.
Shamsul Sulaiman, who appeared for Praveena, asked the court for a lower bail as she was not a flight risk.
"My client works for a private company in Subang and would not want to jeopardise her job by not attending proceedings," he said that her father was also present in court to post bail.
Wan Syahir Azmir Wan Mohd Razi, who represented the other four, also asked for a lower bail as the accused could not afford the proposed amount.
He said Maharaj worked as a ehailing driver and had to provide for his two-year-old son, siblings and sick mother.
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Shanmugaservai, who worked in the medical logistics sector, suffered a heart attack last year and also needs regular medical check-ups and has to provide for his siblings.
"Faezatun, who lives alone, does not have a permanent job, while Suvipra, an orphan, helps Shanmugaservai with his work," he said.
Magistrate Uthman then fixed bail at RM4,000 with one surety each and set Sept 3 for remention.
All five accused were also slapped with another charge of self-administering THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) drugs between midnight and 1am on July 14 at the district police headquarters.
The five claimed trial to the charge under Section 15(1) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
The prosecution then told the court that the pathology reports were not ready and offered the accused bail of RM5,000, each with one surety.
Again, the counsel for all the accused appealed for a lower amount.
Magistrate Uthman then fixed bail at RM2,000 for each accused and fixed Sept 3 for remention.
Police had arrested the five after the victim drowned at the hotel pool.
All six had checked in at the hotel on July 11 to celebrate one of their birthdays and were supposed to have checked out two days later.
