Firefighter’s father to send representation to new AG on committal proceedings against ex-AG

The father of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim will submit a representation to Attorney-General Idrus Harun to seek the latter’s stand on the committal proceeding application he filed against former AG Tommy Thomas.

Lawyer Aidil Khalid, representing Mohd Kassim Abdul Hamid, said he had informed the matter to Court of Appeal deputy registrar Darmafikri Abu Adam during case management last March 11, which was also attended by senior federal counsel Mankiranjit Kaur Mehinder Singh, who represented the then AG.

“The court was informed that with the current development (change in AG), the appellant (Kassim) will write a letter of representation to the new AG (Idrus) to seek his stand,” he told Bernama.

However, he said due to the movement control order (MCO), enforced since March 18, the letter could not be sent yet.

Aidil said he would also seek instructions from his client whether to proceed with the appeal or withdraw it, taking into account the current development with the appointment of the new AG.

He said the Court of Appeal had set May 5 for further case management to obtain the latest development.

Kassim filed the appeal last Feb 11 against a High Court decision in allowing Thomas’ appeal to set aside the committal proceeding he filed against the then AG.

Judge Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, in his judgment, said the Coroner’s Court had erred in allowing the application by Mohd Kassim to initiate committal proceeding against the AG, adding that Mohd Kassim, in his application, failed to draw the coroner’s attention to a media statement issued by the then AG on May 28, 2019 as a whole.

Kassim filed the ex-parte application for a committal order against the AG on July 16 last year for allegedly insulting the court through the filing of an affidavit by the AG’s Chambers on April 3 on the firefighter’s death.

The affidavit was filed while the inquest into the cause of Adib’s death was still underway. The inquest which involved 41 days of hearings, began on Feb 11 last year and came to a close on July 24.

Adib was seriously injured in a riot at the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple, Subang Jaya, in 2018. He died on Dec 17, after 21 days at the National Heart Institute.

Last Sept 27, the Coroner’s Court established that Muhammad Adib died after he was assaulted by two or three unidentified people during the riot.

- Bernama