Court fixes 8 days in October for Nhaveen murder trial

GEORGE TOWN: The High Court here has fixed eight days in October for the trial of four men accused of murdering teenager T Nhaveen nine years ago.

Deputy public prosecutor Amril Johari said Justice Radzi Abdul Hamid would preside over the trial, which will be held from Oct 7 to 9 and 12 to 16.

Case mention was fixed for July 13 during proceedings held via Zoom today.

Amril and fellow deputy public prosecutor Yazid Mustaqim Roshan are prosecuting while lawyers Manvir Singh Dhillon and R Thevan are acting for the accused.

Nhaveen, 18, died on June 15, 2017 from severe head injuries without regaining consciousness after a brutal assault that sparked nationwide outrage over bullying and homophobic violence.

The offence was allegedly committed near the Karpal Singh Learning Centre in Jalan Kaki Bukit, Bukit Gelugor, between 11pm and midnight on June 9, 2017.

S Gopinath, 35; J Ragesuthan, 27; S Gokulan, 27; and two others who were juveniles at the time of the offence were acquitted of murder by the High Court in October 2023.

In January last year, the Court of Appeal reversed their acquittal and ruled that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against them, ordering them to enter their defence.

However, the trial was delayed as prosecutors could not locate and serve the notice of appeal on Gopinath.

Two weeks ago, the Federal Court struck out the prosecution’s notice of appeal against Gopinath’s acquittal to allow the trial for the other four to proceed.