Thava's death: Lawyers accuse Perak police chief of 'misdirection'

Thava's death: Lawyers accuse Perak police chief of 'misdirection'

Four lawyers have emerged to claim that Perak police chief Mior Faridalathrash Wahid was wrong to cite Article 7(2) of the Federal Constitution in explaining why the police cannot rearrest the suspect in the death of S Thava Sagayam.

They argued that Article 7(2) only applied if the suspect had been acquitted or convicted and, therefore, could not be charged again for the same offence.

"Mior's opinion is unsustainable, wrong in law and amounts to misdirection," said the quartet.

The four are M Kula Segaran, A Sivanesan, Omar Kutty and Selvam Nadarajah. Kula Segaran and Sivanesan are also lawmakers.

They argued that the suspect - Noor Azhar Muhammad - was charged in January with causing grievous hurt and the case has not concluded.

Victim S Thava Sagayam

Should the police investigate the matter under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, the four lawyers argued that Noor Azhar was legally not allowed bail.

They argued that since Noor Azhar was charged under a bailable offence, they warned the suspect is a flight risk.

In view of this, the four lawyers urged the attorney-general to expedite murder charges against Noor Azhar.

Thava Sagayam was assaulted on Dec 29 last year while on security guard duty.

He spent the next eight months fighting for his life only to pass away on Aug 28.

Yesterday, Mior, apart from citing Article 7(2), said he expects heavier charges to be proffered against Noor Azhar and instructions are expected from the attorney-general soon.