The background

(1) 1 In the present case, originally there were four accused charged, namely:

(1) Alagendra a/l Subramaniam;

(2) Scott Allen Hazlett;

(3) Sidney Alloysious Michael; and

(4) Prakash Kumar a/l Subramaniam.

(2) 2 They were jointly charged and tried under s 302 of the Penal Code for the murder of an elderly woman, one Mdm Seow Saw Poh @ Siew Siaw Poh, on the night of 27 December 1998 at Jalan Tebrau 1, Ukay Heights, Hulu Kelang, District of Gombak, Selangor.

(3) 3 They were originally tried before Kang Hwee Gee J on 17 January 2000. The learned judge heard the case only partially. For, after hearing the testimony of only three prosecution witnesses, the learned judge was transferred from the High Court of Shah Alam to the High Court of Kuala Lumpur.

(4) 4 In September 2000 I was transferred from the High Court of Kuala Lumpur to the High Court of Shah Alam. The Chief Judge (Malaya) directed me to take over conduct of the trial.

(5) 5 This case was first mentioned before me on 9 February 2001. On this date, the prosecution informed the court that the first accused, Alagendra, had died while under remand in prison and applied that th