Anthony Kevin Morais

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Anthony Kevin Morais
Born(1960-03-22)22 March 1960
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Disappeared4 September 2015 (aged 55)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Cause of deathMurder
Body discovered16 September 2015(2015-09-16) (aged 55)
Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Resting placeChurch of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Ipoh
OccupationProsecutor

Anthony Kevin Morais (22 March 1960 – c. September 2015) was a Malaysian prosecutor who served as deputy public prosecutor for the Attorney General of Malaysia and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Early life

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Kevin Anthony Morais was born to Francis Bede Morais and Lourdes Loius[1] on 22 March 1960 in Kuala Lumpur. He is the eldest of four brothers.[2]

Career

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1MDB investigation

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Morais had been seconded from the Law Ministry to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, which was looking into financial irregularities involving the troubled 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a state-backed investment fund and other issues.[3]

In 2015, reporter Clare Rewcastle Brown published anonymous emails to her blog, leaking the secret draft arrest warrant for Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak. This led to immediate backlash from Najib and all parties involved. Morais was the drafter of the arrest warrant.[4] The 2023 Netflix documentary, Man on the Run, implies that due to this Najib and/or close authorities placed a bounty on Morais. Morais' brother has repeated these claims.[3] S. Ravi Chandaran, one of the accused, claimed that Najib offered him RM3.5 million ($735,000 USD in 2024) to admit guilt to the crime.[5]

Murder

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Morais was last seen alive on 4 September 2015 leaving his Menara Duta condominium in Segambut, Kuala Lumpur for work at the Attorney-General's Chambers in Putrajaya. He drove a Proton Perdana with license plates WA6264Q. His youngest brother filed a missing person's report late next day. Earlier, a car matching the model he owned was found in a palm oil plantation in Perak. His body was found in a concrete filled drum at USJ 1, Subang Jaya, Selangor on 16 September 2015.

On 20 November 2017, six were accused of the murder of Morais after the courts found that the prosecution had proven a prima facie against them.[6] The six accused were former army pathologist Colonel Dr R. Kunaseegaran, 55; R. Dinishwaran, 26; A.K Thinesh Kumar, 25; M. Vishwanath, 28; S. Nimalan 25; and S. Ravi Chandran, 47.[7]

Initially, there were seven accused individuals in the trial; however, G. Gunasekaran was discharged and acquitted in 2016 after the prosecution had applied to withdraw the charge against him. The Sessions Court sentenced Gunasekaran to two years in jail effective from the date of his arrest on 15 September 2015, after he pleaded guilty to concealing Kevin Morais' body and disposing of the plate number of the deceased's car.[8] The prosecution set out to prove that the motive for the murder of Kevin Morais had been revenge as Morais had been the prosecuting officer in the corruption case against Kunaseegaran.[9]

On 10 July 2020, after a lengthy 4-year court trial, the High Court found all six accused guilty of murder and sentenced them to death by hanging.[7]

On 15 March 2024, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals of the six men, and upheld their convictions and sentences.[10]

On 1 July 2025, the Federal Court upheld the murder conviction of three accused, namely Kunaseegaran, Nimalan, and Ravi Chandran. Kunaseegaran's death sentence was maintained by the court as he had withdrawn his appeal during the mitigation stage, while Ravi Chandran was commuted to 35 years prison with 12 strokes of whipping and Ravi Chandran was commuted to 40 years imprisonment instead. The three other accused, namely Dinishwaran, Thinesh Kumar, and Vishwanath were acquitted and released by the Federal Court.[11][12]

Funeral

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Between 24 and 26 September 2015, a three-day wake was held at the Nirvana Memorial Centre in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur, although Morais's remains has yet to be reclaimed from Kuala Lumpur Hospital mortuary by his family.[13] The memorial service was attended by his relatives and friends, including some 100 of his colleagues from Attorney General's Chambers and Mohamed Apandi Ali, the Attorney General of Malaysia.[14]

On 26 September, a memorial mass was also held at the St Joseph's Church in Sentul, which also saw the attendance of Batu MP, Tian Chua.[15][16]

On 3 October, a funeral mass was held at the Church of the Devine Mercy in Shah Alam, even though his body has yet to be reclaimed by his family. The funeral mass was attended by hundreds of his family members, friends and colleagues from the Attorney-General's Chambers, the Malaysian Bar and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.[17][18]

On 23 November, Morais's family finally retrieved his remains from the hospital mortuary did not proceed with the initial demand to conduct a second autopsy.[19] His body was cremated on the same day.[20][21][22]

On 27 February 2016, a memorial mass was held at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in Silibin, Ipoh, which saw around 300 people attended the mass. Morais's ashes was then interred at the columbarium of the Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Ipoh Garden on the same day.[20][21][22][23]

Legacy

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On 27 November 2015, in conjunction with the 59th birthday of the Sultan of Perak. Anthony Kevin Morais received the Darjah Datuk Paduka Mahkota Perak (DPMP), which carries the title "Dato’" from the 35th Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah.[24][25]

In the Malaysian Anti Corruption Academy, there is a moot court named "Kevin Morais Moot Court" which was renamed after his death.[26][27][28]

In 2020, Morais was named as one of the two recipients of the International Anti-Corruption Award 2020 at the Perdana International Anti-Corruption Champion Fund (PIACCF).[29]

Honours

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ IvyGram (23 September 2015). "A patriot felled. Memorial details for Kevin Morais". Twitter. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  2. ^ "Kevin Morais' youngest sibling attacks SD credibility". Malaysiakini. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  3. ^ a b Berthelsen, John. "Slain Malaysian Prosecutor Tied to Najib Probe". www.asiasentinel.com. Archived from the original on 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  4. ^ Lin, Koh Jun (2015-11-25). "'Kevin worked on PM and wife's case, initials on charge sheet'". Malaysiakini. Archived from the original on 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  5. ^ Bernama (2018-10-02). "Kevin Morais murder: Accused tells of RM3.5 mil offer from Najib". Free Malaysia Today (FMT). Archived from the original on 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
  6. ^ "Six get death for murder of DPP". The Star. 11 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  7. ^ a b Khairulrijal, Rahmat; Karim, Khairah N. (2020-07-10). "Six sentenced to hang over Kevin Morais murder | New Straits Times". NST Online. Archived from the original on 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  8. ^ "Six sentenced to death for murder of Kevin Morais". The Edge Markets. 2020-07-10. Archived from the original on 2024-07-13. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  9. ^ "Six sentenced to death for murder of Kevin Morais". The Edge Markets. 2020-07-10. Archived from the original on 2021-06-29. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  10. ^ "Malaysian court upholds conviction against former pathologist, 5 others over murder of prosecutor Kevin Morais". CNA. 15 March 2024. Archived from the original on 13 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  11. ^ Hamdan, Nurbaiti (1 July 2025). "Kevin Morais murder: Federal Court upholds conviction of three men, including ex-pathologist". The Star. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Federal Court upholds death penalty for ex-army doctor, commutes sentences of two in Kevin Morais case". Malay Mail. BERNAMA. 1 July 2025. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  13. ^ "Memorial service for murdered DPP held under tight security". The Malaysian Insider. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2025 – via Yahoo! News.
  14. ^ Mustafa, Muzliza (25 September 2015). "A-G, colleagues pay last respects to Kevin Morais at Nirvana". The Edge Malaysia. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Friends, relatives of Kevin Morais attend memorial service". The Sun. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  16. ^ "Seven to be charged with Morais' murder today". The Edge Malaysia. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  17. ^ "Farewell Kevin, your work is done, says AGC colleague at funeral". The Malaysian Insider. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2025 – via Yahoo! News.
  18. ^ Joibi, Natasha (3 October 2015). "Hundreds attend funeral mass for Kevin Morais". The Star. Archived from the original on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  19. ^ Mohd, Hariz; Shahrudin, Hani Shamira (23 November 2015). "Family claim Kevin Morais' body". New Straits Times. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  20. ^ a b "Kevin Morais's ashes interred in Ipoh columbarium". The Malaysian Insider. 27 February 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2025 – via Yahoo! News.
  21. ^ a b Syamil (16 March 2016). "Kevin Morais' Final Resting Place". Ipoh Echo. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  22. ^ a b "Remains of Kevin Morais finally laid to rest in Ipoh". Free Malaysia Today. 28 February 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  23. ^ Kumaran, Loghun (28 February 2016). "DPP Morais laid to rest after five months". Malay Mail. Retrieved 1 July 2025.
  24. ^ "Mendiang Kevin Morais dianugerah darjah Perak bergelar Datuk". Malaysiakini. 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 28 November 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  25. ^ Jaspar Singh (27 November 2015). "Kevin Morais conferred posthumous 'Datuk' title". The Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 12 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  26. ^ "SPRM abadikan nama Kevin Morais pada Moot Court MACA". Berita Harian. 19 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  27. ^ "MACC names moot court after Kevin Morais". The Star (Malaysia). 2 October 2015. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  28. ^ Rozanna Latiff (19 September 2015). "MACC renames moot court in honour of Kevin Morais". New Straits Times. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  29. ^ Perimbanayagam, Kalbana (2020-02-11). "Kevin Morais named as recipient of International Anti-Corruption Award 2020". NST Online. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
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