MyWatch’s Sanjeevan obtains leave to appeal against blackmail conviction

 

The Court of Appeal yesterday allowed the application by former Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan to obtain leave to appeal against his three-month jail sentence and RM7,000 fine on a charge of blackmailing a shop worker nine years ago.

In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel led by Kamaludin Md Said allowed Sanjeevan’s application for leave to appeal to set aside the conviction and sentence by the High Court in Temerloh on Nov 27, 2020.

“The appellant (Sanjeevan, above) must file the appeal notice within 14 days beginning today (April 28),” said judge Kamaludin, who presided with judges Hadhariah Syed Ismail and Nordin Hassan.

The judges also allowed the businessperson’s application for a stay of execution pending disposal of his appeal.

Lawyer V Sithambaram, representing Sanjeevan, informed the court that he would raise nine legal arguments in the appeal later.

On Aug 14, 2018, the Magistrate's Court in Temerloh sentenced Sanjeevan to three months’ jail and fined him RM7,000 after finding him guilty of extorting RM1,500 from a male shop worker by saying that the worker would face the risk of not being able to continue his business

Postpone jail term

The offence was allegedly committed at Triang Commercial Centre in Bera, Pahang, at 9.45pm on July 1, 2013, under Section 384 of the Penal Code.

On Nov 27, 2020, the High Court in Temerloh upheld the Magistrate’s Court's decision. On Dec 4 of the same year, the High Court also allowed Sanjeevan’s application to postpone his jail term until his appeal has been decided by the Court of Appeal.

Judge Hassan Abdul Ghani, however, ordered Sanjeevan to pay bail of RM35,000 in two sureties and to surrender his passport, if any, to the court until the case is settled.

The court also ordered Sanjeevan to report himself to the Semenyih police station in Kajang, Selangor, each week until the completion of the case hearing at the Court of Appeal and to obtain the permission of the Kajang district police chief before leaving the district.

Hassan said if the applicant violated any of these conditions, his bail would be forfeited.

At yesterday’s proceeding, Sanjeevan was also represented by lawyers S Preakas and Miguel Sequerah, while deputy public prosecutor Atiqah Abdul Karim prosecuted the case.

- Bernama