A three-member Court of Appeal panel chaired by justice Ahmad Nasfy Yasin said Sanjeevan, 38, was denied a fair trial which resulted in a miscarriage of justice.

He said this was because the prosecution did not call seven witnesses who were present at the crime scene to testify nor were they offered to Sanjeevan when he was ordered to enter his defence.

“The conviction is unsafe and must be quashed,” the judge said.

Nasfy, who sat with justices Ahmad Zaidi Zainal and Mariana Yahya, said the High Court also erred when affirming the judgment of a magistrate who had wrongly imposed a higher burden of proof on Sanjeevan.

The magistrate had ruled that Sanjeevan was required to prove his case on a balance of probabilities.

However, lawyer V Sithambaram submitted earlier today the defence needed only to create a reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.

“We find the higher burden placed on the appellant fatal,” he said.

Nasfy said the identification of Sanjeevan from the dock by prosecution witnesses during the trial was also doubtful.

“(That) is not positive identification,” he said.

Sithambaram, who was assisted by S Preakas and Miguel Sequerah, had submitted that no identification parade was conducted.

Nasfy also said the investigating officer had failed to take a statement from Sanjeevan nor investigate the case.

On April 28, Sanjeevan obtained leave from the Court of Appeal to hear the merits of his appeal after nine legal questions were allowed. Leave was necessary as the matter originated from the magistrates’ court.

On Aug 14, 2018, the magistrates’ court in Temerloh sentenced Sanjeevan to three months’ jail and fined him RM7,000 after finding him guilty of extorting RM1,500 from businessman Chan Leong Kwan.

Sanjeevan was alleged to have told Chan he would not be able to run his business if he failed to pay.

Sanjeevan, also a businessman, was alleged to have committed the offence at Triang Commercial Centre in Bera, Pahang at 9.45pm on July 1, 2013.

He was charged under Section 384 of the Penal Code, which carries a jail sentence of up to 10 years, a fine or whipping upon conviction.

He was released after posting bail of RM6,000 and having paid the fine.

On Nov 27, 2020, the High Court dismissed Sanjeevan’s appeal. He was ordered to begin his sentence of imprisonment after a stay of execution was disallowed.

However, on Dec 4, 2020, the High Court allowed Sanjeevan a stay on condition that he posted bail of RM35,000 in two sureties and surrendered his passport to the court until the case was disposed.

He was also required to report to the Semenyih police station in Kajang, Selangor, every week until the disposal of the case and to obtain the permission of the Kajang district police chief before leaving the district.