GEORGE TOWN — One of the four men accused of murdering teenager T. Nhaveen nine years ago denied yesterday that he and the three other accused carried out an attack on the victim and his friend at Padang Openg following a scuffle on Jalan Kaki Bukit, Gelugor.

J. Ragesuthen, 27, told the High Court here that he was on Jalan Kaki Bukit when a “scuffle” occurred between his friend — who was another accused and a minor at the time of the incident — and T. Previin, who was Nhaveen’s friend.

He said Previin acted aggressively and struck his friend with a helmet, and that he stopped Previin from continuing to attack his friend, while two other friends who are also accused, S. Gokulan and another person, subsequently arrived to break up the fight.

“I saw Previin hit another accused friend in the face with a helmet, and he passed out at the scene. Suddenly, Belang (their friend) came to the scene on a motorcycle. Belang broke up the fight at that moment,” he said while reading his witness statement during his defence against the charge of murdering Nhaveen.

Ragesuthen said he, Gokulan, and another accused helped carry the injured accused back home to get treatment.

He said he then saw Belang take Nhaveen away on his motorcycle while Previin left on his own motorcycle, and he did not know what happened to them after that.

The man also admitted to mocking Nhaveen earlier along with another accused at a burger stall, though he could not recall the contents, and claimed that Nhaveen came with Previin to Jalan Kaki Bukit to ask why they had mocked Nhaveen, leading to the scuffle between them.

Answering questions from Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohd Amril Johari, Ragesuthen also denied that he, Gokulan, and the two other accused subsequently went to Padang Openg and continued the attack on Nhaveen.

Asked whether throughout the previous trial he had ever raised the fact that the accused’s friend passed out after being hit by Previin, Ragesuthan admitted that the matter had never been told in court.