Workshop supervisor owed company RM57,000, coroner hears

 

Kannadasan Veerasamy, 34, died in a fire at a car workshop in Puchong, Selangor, on Nov 19, 2021. (File pic)

SHAH ALAM: The coroner’s court today heard how an employee of a car workshop in Bukit Puchong, Selangor, died in a fire at the premises on Nov 19, 2021, one month after admitting to misappropriating RM57,000 belonging to his employer.

Lim Poh Cheng, an accounts executive based at the company’s headquarters in Bangi, said the matter came to light after the deceased, Kannadasan Veerasamy, a supervisor, stopped depositing the proceeds of the workshop’s sales and services into the company’s bank account two months earlier.

“In (early) October, we checked and found that the last time the deceased deposited the money was on Sept 27. When prompted, he said he would bank in the outstanding sum, but he didn’t,” she testified.

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Lim said she warned the deceased that she would disclose the matter to her boss, Phang Chee Wai, if he failed to reimburse the company.

She later learned that the deceased had himself confessed to Phang on Oct 12 about not banking in the money.

According to Lim, Kannadasan admitted to not banking in the funds once again at a meeting in Phang’s office two days later. She said both she and the company’s human resources manager, a Miss Guan, were present.

Lim said the deceased also signed a letter acknowledging having taken the money and promising to return it by Nov 15. However, she said, the company did not receive the money as promised.

Four days later, Kannadasan, 34, died in a fire at the premises. His charred remains were found in a storeroom located at the back of the workshop.

Questioned by S Vinesh, who represented the deceased’s family, Lim said the deceased did not disclose to her what he did with the money. She also admitted to not having any statement of accounts to prove the quantum owed.

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The court also heard testimony from assistant investigating officer Dinesh Ganesan.

According to Dinesh, Phang’s mobile phone showed that he had received a text message from the deceased admitting to having used the money and requesting a meeting to discuss the matter.

Dinesh said he did not think it was necessary to verify the quantum said to have been misappropriated, adding that the sum had been admitted in the letter signed by the deceased and in his text message.

He also said a report from the fire and rescue department confirmed that the incident was the result of an incendiary fire.

He claimed two workers had in their statements confirmed seeing Phang and Kannadasan enter the storeroom together.

Dinesh testified that Phang was later seen running out of the storeroom with his face on fire.

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The inquest before coroner Rasyihah Ghazali will resume tomorrow.

It was convened after Kannadasan’s family expressed suspicion about the manner of his death.

In an interview with FMT in Dec 2021, his wife Revathi Elangovan ruled out suicide, saying her husband was a happy person who had no family or financial problems. - FMT