By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 10: A teenage couple was charged in the Sepang Magistrate’s Court today in connection with the death of a 20-year-old private university student from Kuching, who was found dead in her condominium unit in Cyberjaya last month.
According to a NST news report, M. Sri Darvien, 19, an odd-job worker, was charged with the murder of Maniishapriet Kaur Akhara under Section 302 of the Penal Code, which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction. If the death penalty is not imposed, the offence is punishable with imprisonment of between 30 and 40 years and not fewer than 12 strokes of the cane.
His girlfriend, D. Thineswary, also 19 and a student, was charged with abetting Darvien in committing the offence. Her charge was framed under Section 109 of the Penal Code, read together with Section 302.
Both accused nodded in understanding when the charges were read before Magistrate Khairatul Animah Jelani. No plea was recorded, as the case falls under the jurisdiction of the High Court.
According to the charge sheet, Darvien allegedly committed the offence between 9.11pm and 11.31pm on June 23 at Block A, Mutiara Ville, Persiaran Multimedia in Cyberjaya. Thineswary is accused of abetting the offence at about 12.30pm the same day, at the same location.
No bail was offered, and the court fixed Sept 11 for mention.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin, who led the prosecution, requested the court to fix a date for the submission of forensic, post-mortem, and chemistry reports. She also informed the court that bail would not be offered.
Darvien was represented by lawyer M. Manoharan, who urged the court to expedite the transfer of the case to the High Court, given his client’s ineligibility for bail.
Thineswary’s legal team, comprising Mohamed Baharudeen Mohamed Ariff, Datuk Abu Bakar Isa Ramat, and Joel Ruben John, also requested that the Attorney-General’s Chambers hasten the legal process.
In response, Raja Zaizul Faridah explained that the prosecution needed more time to compile and serve the relevant documents to the defence before the case could be elevated to the High Court.
“Only once these documents are in order can consent be granted to transfer the case. The court should set a mention date to update the case’s progress,” she said.
She was assisted by Deputy Public Prosecutors Norfarhanim Abdul Halim, Aqharie Durranie Aziz, Saifuddin Rafiee, and Luvithaa Veerasamy.
Lawyers Datuk Rajpal Singh, Raspreet Kaur, and Sarabmeet Singh held a watching brief on behalf of the victim’s family. Rajpal is the uncle of the deceased.
Maniishapriet, a Bachelor of Physiotherapy student at a university in Cyberjaya, was found dead in her condominium unit on June 24. A friend who discovered her body alerted the police.
Initial investigations found no signs of forced entry or sexual assault. A post-mortem later confirmed the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head. — DayakDaily
