KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — The man who pleaded guilty to 623 charges of sexually assaulting his daughter was not given access to proper legal representation, his lawyers said today.
Lawyers Cyrus Tiu and Rajesh Nagarajan also told High Court judge Datuk Azman Abdullah during today's appeal hearing that there were other possible irregularities in the case.
“These included non-compliance with certain provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code, and most importantly, the accused was not asked, given nor afforded legal representation in court when he was first arrested last year,” Rajesh said during the open court proceedings at the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.
The 37-year old unit trust agent charged in the Sessions Court in Putrajaya last August 9, where he initially claimed trial. On August 25, however, he changed his plea to guilty.
In September, he was sentenced to 48 years in prison and 24 strokes of the rotan, and ordered to pay RM10,000 in compensation to his teenage victim. In December, he appealed against his sentence.
Azman then set May 16 to decide the matter, and said he will review a video of the Sessions Court proceedings then to consider if there was merit to the bid for a retrial.
Prosecutor Aimi Syazwani Sarmin also said she will review the events from August 25.
Speaking to reporters later, Rajesh said the Federal Constitution guarantees an individual the right to legal representation.
“The idea is to prevent a miscarriage of justice, and to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity before the law,” he said.
