Three men plead not guilty to setting fire to activist Cikgu Chandra’s wife’s cars

KUALA LUMPUR, July 7 — Three men pleaded not guilty today in the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court to charges of setting fire to three cars belonging to the wife of activist ‘Cikgu Chandra’ in March.

The accused, tow-truck driver A. Kumaran, 34; security guard S. Kisshen Nair, 32; and lorry driver P. Surendran, 37, are jointly charged with committing mischief by fire on two Perodua vehicles and a Proton automobile owned by M. Sri Uma Mahesvary, 50.

The offence was alleged to have caused estimated losses of RM80,000 and occurred at approximately 3.00am on March 10 at a residence in Taman Kinrara, Puchong.

They were charged under Section 435 of the Penal Code, which provides for a maximum of 14 years imprisonment and may also be liable to a fine upon conviction.

Deputy public prosecutor Nurfadzlin Mahmad Zulhasnan did not offer bail on grounds that the offence is serious in nature and does not merit it.

Should the Court exercise its discretion to allow bail, the prosecution proposed RM10,000 for each accused, subject to them being required to report periodically to the nearest police station, to refrain from interfering with or intimidating any prosecution witnesses, and to surrender their passports to the Court.

Lawyer Vinesh Segar, who represented all three accused, applied for bail on the grounds that his clients were each supporting families and, having not yet been proven guilty, had also given their full cooperation throughout the course of the investigation.

Judge Noor Ruzilawati Mohd Nor allowed RM8,000 in bail for each accused, subject to the additional conditions sought by the prosecution.

Previously, the media reported that police had opened two investigation papers relating to the incident of mischief and criminal intimidation involving activist ‘Cikgu Chandra’ that occurred in Taman Kinrara. — Bernama