THREE men sentenced to hang for the murder of a lorry driver tried to give up their right to appeal against their convictions on Thursday.
But the Court of Appeal denied the requests of two of the men, who had not directly assaulted the victim but had been found guilty of murder by common intention.
The three-judge Bench told their lawyers that, in the event they were discharged by their clients, they would have to continue with the case - in the capacity of a 'friend of the court'.
The door was left open to the third man, Nakamuthu Balakrishnan, 49, who had beaten Mr Wan Cheon Kem to death with a baseball bat, to proceed with the appeal if he changes his mind.
Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong noted that while the court usually agreed to such requests, it had to be extra careful in cases involving the death penalty.
In March, the High Court found the trio guilty of murder, which carries the mandatory sentence of death by hanging.
Their attempt to rob the lorry of its load of cellphones ended in the death of the driver. The trial judge held that Daniel Vijay Katherasan, 24, and Christopher Samson Anpalagan, 25, were liable in law for the killing carried out by Balakrishnan.
Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.
