JOHOR BARU: A factory worker and security guard were charged at the Sessions Court today with disposing evidence in the murder of a 19-year-old teenager, whose body was found at a bus stop here last month.
Factory worker D. Khishendra, 24, and his friend K. Mathan Raj, 31, pleaded not guilty to the charge of disposing of the evidence.
The charge stated they committed the act at a bus stop in Jalan Persiaran Sungai Danga in Perling here at 7.50am on September 21.
The offence falls under Section 201 of the Penal Code for causing disappearance of evidence of an offence committed to screen the offender, which is read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
Khishendra and Mathan Raj, who is a security guard, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Public Prosecutor Suhaila Shafiuddin asked Sessions Court Judge Kamarudin Kamsun for bail to be set at RM30,000 each.
In mitigation, counsel R. Subash, who was representing Khishendra, asked for a lower bail, saying that the accused is the sole breadwinner for his family and is caring for his parents.
Mathan Raj, who was represented by counsels Mohammad Ashraff Mohd Diah and Ahmad Yusri Ahmad Fuad, also asked for a lower bail.
The counsels told the court that Mathan Raj, who is working as a security guard, earns a low salary and is getting married in December.
Kamaruddin set bail at RM12,000 for Khishendra and RM10,000 for Mathan Raj. He set November 9 for re-mention of the case.
On September 21, the body of unemployed S. Navina, 19, with injuries to the head, was found by a passerby at a bus stop
Police believed that the victim was attacked and killed somewhere else before being dumped at the bus stop.
The police subsequently arrested four men, aged 22 to 41, eight days after Navina's body was found.