Sessions Court judge Azian Othman handed down the sentence to G Gunasekaran, after he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge under Section 201 of the Penal Code for causing disappearance of evidence.

“He is to serve his jail sentence from the date of his arrest,” she said.

Gunasekaran was arrested on Sept 15 last year, and it is believed that he could walk out a free man by February after having served at least two-thirds of his sentence.

Previously, Gunasekaran and five others, R Dinishwaran, Thinesh Kumar Ashok Kumar, M Vishwanath, S Nimalan, and S Ravi Chandran were charged for murdering Morais.

Meanwhile, former military doctor Dr R Kunaseegaran was charged with abetting the murder.

The murder and abetment charges come with a mandatory death sentence upon conviction.

Yesterday, at the trial in the High Court, a witness, Lim Khai Meng told the court that Gunasekaran bought a drum from him for RM20, citing he wanted to use it to dispose of rubbish.

In pleading for leniency, Gunasekaran’s lawyer Ramesh Sivakumar said he was remorseful for what he had done.

“He wants to take the opportunity to apologise to his wife and children for putting them into public shame. My client is also sorry to the general public over Morais’ death,” he said.

Deputy public prosecutor Saiful Mohd Saad asked the court to impose a deterrent sentence to reflect the seriousness of the crime.