The inability of the appellants to raise reasonable doubt led to affirming their conviction for murder based on circumstantial evidence.

Introduction

[1] Rames Arumugam ("the 1st appellant") and Tew Siew Kim ("the 2nd appellant") were charged under s 302, read together with s 34 of the Penal Code for the murder of Sukumaran Arumugam ("the deceased").

[2] The charge against the 1st appellant reads:

"Bahawa kamu bersama-sama seorang yang masih bebas, bagi mencapai niat bersama pada tarikh antara 3 April 2017 jam lebih kurang 11.30 malam hingga 4 April 2017 jam lebih kurang 7.15 pagi bertempat di Kebun Kelapa Sawit Lot 358 Batu 38, Jalan Rawang Bestari Jaya, di dalam daerah Kuala Selangor, di dalam Negeri Selangor Darul Ehsan, telah melakukan kesalahan membunuh seorang lelaki bernama Sukumaran Arumugam (No KP: 830920-10-6143). Oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah s 302 Kanun Keseksaan dan dibaca bersama s 34 Kanun Keseksaan."

[3] The charge against the 2nd appellant reads:

"Bahawa kamu bersama dengan Rames Arumugam No KPT 770628-10-5053 yang telah dituduh di Mahkamah Tinggi Shah Alam No Kes 45B-9-03/2018 bagi mencapai niat bersama pada tarikh antara 3 April 2017 jam lebih kurang 11.30 malam hingga 4 April 2017 jam lebih kurang 7.15 pagi bertempat di Kebun Kelapa Sawit Lot 358, Batu 38, Jalan Rawang Bestari Jaya, di dalam daerah Kuala Selangor, di dalam Negeri Selangor Darul Ehsan, telah melakukan kesalahan membunuh seorang lelaki bernama Sukumaran Arumugam (No. KP: 830920-10-6143). Oleh yang demikian kamu telah melakukan satu kesalahan yang boleh dihukum di bawah s 302 Kanun Keseksaan dan dibaca bersama s 34 Kanun Keseksaan."

[4] The appellants did not plead guilty to the charge, and a joint trial was held before the learned Judicial Commissioner ("JC").

The Prosecution's Case

[5] The prosecution called a total of 17 witnesses. The learned JC had summarised the pertinent facts of the prosecution's case in his grounds of judgment. We respectfully adopt them with some modifications where necessary.

[6] On 3 April 2017, the night of the incident, SP6 was drinking beer with the deceased in front of the deceased's house. At the time, SP6's brother, SP12, stood at the gate of his relative's house, just next to the deceased's house. According to SP6 and SP12, at about 11.30 pm, a blue Proton Iswara arrived in front of the house. Two men came out of the car and walked towards the deceased. The two men then attacked the deceased with a parang and knife. The deceased shouted for help as the two men attacked him. The deceased ran to the palm oil plantation in front of the house, and the two men pursued him. After a few minutes, the two men emerged from the plantation and left with their car.

[7] SP6 then went to look for the deceased and shouted his name, but he could not find the deceased. He went to the Batang Berjuntai Police Station, where he informed the police officer of what happened and that the deceased had gone missing. He later led the police to the area where the incident happened.

[8] The police arrived at the scene with their patrol car. SP2, a police officer, stated that he took out a torch light and directed it towards the plantation as guided by SP6. However, he could not see much as the area was dark. The police then left the scene.

[9] On the following morning, ie on 4 April 2017 at about 7.30 am, the deceased's body was found by SP3, a neighbour. The police were called to the scene. SP17, the investigating officer, carried out an investigation on the deceased's death. SP9, the deceased's brother, later identified the deceased.

[10] At about 3.00 pm on the same day, a post-mortem was conducted by SP15, a Consultant Pathologist at Sungai Buloh Hospital. SP15 gave evidence that the cause of death of the deceased was a 'stab wound to the heart'. Several samples were taken from the deceased's body for