Another man, who was held in prison at the pleasure of the Johor Ruler as he was a minor when the alleged offence took place, also succeeded in getting his conviction quashed.

A three-member bench, chaired by Chief Justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, said the conviction and sentence were not safe and set it aside. Judges Nallini Pathmanathan and Zaleha Yusof were the other members of the panel.

The acquittal came about as there was doubt if prosecution witness M Vengadasalam was able to positively identify the assailants of the crime.

Krishnan Kandasamy, 66, S Shanmugammuthaliar, 30, Krishnan Kalimuthu, 33 and the juvenile, now aged 27, were all found guilty by the High Court for the murder of V Varathu at Jalan Sutera in Taman Puteri in Kluang on Nov 7, 2012.

Krishnan Kandasamy’s appeal was not heard as he had died in prison recently.

Lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, who represented Krishnan Kalimuthu, submitted that Vengadasalam was not a credible prosecution witness and his evidence should be rejected.

“Under examination-in-chief, this witness testified he had seen all the accused at weddings, funerals and other social functions. However, when cross-examined, he contradicted himself,” he said.

Hisyam said Vengadasalam’s evidence was also contradicted by another prosecution witness, Marsita Abdul Manaf.

N Sivananthan represented Shanmugammuthaliar while R Subash appeared for the then juvenile, whose name was not revealed under the circumstances.

Meanwhile, in another case, the same bench allowed the appeal of a mobile phone salesman who was convicted for allegedly trafficking in 146.9gm of methamphetamine at Kampung Simpah in Mak Mandin, Penang, on March 29, 2016.

Instead, the panel reduced the charge against Low Kie Gie, 38, to possession and he was sentenced to 15 years’ jail and ordered to be given 10 strokes of the rotan.

Hisyam had submitted that the trial judge had misdirected himself in failing to appreciate Low’s defence by branding it as a mere denial and concoction.