Two held over alleged links to LTTE denied bail

S Thanagaraj after his arrest in October. (Bernama pic)

BUTTERWORTH: The Sessions Court here today denied a bail application by two men detained over possession of materials allegedly linked to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) two months ago.

The bail application by M Pumugan, 29, and S Thanagaraj, 26, was denied by the court, which subsequently transferred their cases to the High Court in Kuala Lumpur upon request by the prosecutors.

The cases involving Pumugan and Thanagaraj were heard in two separate Sessions Courts by judges Norhayati Mohamad Yunus and Noor Aini Yusof, respectively.

Defence lawyer E Gnasegaran, who represented both men, told the courts that a section concerning bail under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, or Sosma, had been ruled unconstitutional by the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali had ruled on Nov 29 that Section 13 of Sosma was unconstitutional because it denied the courts the discretion to decide whether bail could be granted or refused.

Hence, he said, the Sessions Court was empowered to grant the accused bail, as per Section 388 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which dealt with the issue.

Gnasegaran said there was also no proof that Pumugan and Thanagaraj would cause any bodily harm or death.

He said the duo had already been detained for more than 60 days and should not be deprived of their right to apply for bail, and the Sessions Court had the jurisdiction to grant it to them.

“You have given bail for heavier crimes, such as robbery, criminal breach of trust and manslaughter. Furthermore, the attorney-general did not appeal an earlier High Court finding that Section 13 of Sosma (denying bail) was unconstitutional,” he told the Sessions judges.

“The accused need not apply for bail at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur as they could do so here first.”

Deputy public prosecutors JG Kaameni and Lim Saw Sim objected to the bail request, saying Pumugan and Thanagaraj could make their applications when their cases were transferred to the High Court.

Turning down the bail applications, both judges said matters related to bail in such cases were within the powers of the High Court.

Gnasegaran then sought the court’s permission for both the accused to sign an affidavit pertaining to a motion to be filed in the Kuala Lumpur High Court. He said this was to not waste time later as the duo were being held at the Sungai Buloh maximum security prison. The judges allowed this.

Outside the court, the lawyer said his clients would now have to wait another month before their hearing.

Also acting for the accused were lawyers N Ahilan and Audrey Wee.

On Oct 29, Pumugan and Thanagaraj were charged with possession of items related to the LTTE. Pumugan was charged with having items related to terrorism on his phone and in his home in Juru on Oct 12, and Thanagaraj was charged with the same offence allegedly committed at his home in Taman Sejahtera.

The charges, under Section 130JB (1)(a) of the Penal Code for possession of items related to terrorist groups, carry a maximum seven years’ jail term or a fine upon conviction. - FMT