Suhakam’s findings on missing duo ‘mere suggestions’, say cops and govt

 

Pastor Raymond Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew, has filed a suit to seek an order that police should be held liable for his disappearance.

KUALA LUMPUR: Police and the government, sued by the family of the missing Pastor Raymond Koh, have said the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) public inquiry findings are merely “suggestions” and can be questioned in court.

In response to a lawsuit filed by Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew, they said the findings are not binding on the court.

“Suhakam did not make conclusive findings on purported kidnapping,” they said in their statement of defence.

“In their report, Suhakam stated in two passages that ‘the panel is of the considered view that the enforced disappearance of Pastor Koh was carried out by the state, namely the Special Branch’ and ‘the panel further finds that there is no evidence to support the contention, as suggested by the pastor’s counsel, that the pastor was abducted by persons or groups of persons acting with authorisation, support or acquiescence of the state’.”

They contended that Liew cannot adopt witnesses’ testimonies from the inquiry for the civil action, as the testimonies were not part of a court proceeding.

The inquiry had last year concluded that Koh and activist Amri Che Mat were victims of enforced disappearance carried out by the state, namely the Special Branch.

Police also denied the claim that they had tried to thwart the inquiry by charging a man with wrongful confinement of Koh and extortion.

“The accused person, Lam Chang Nam, was charged in the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court on two charges but was granted a ‘discharge not amounting to an acquittal’ last year. The pastor’s case is still under investigation until today,” they said.

Liew had said former inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar had told the inquiry Lam was not involved in Koh’s case.

She also brought up the incident where the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) raided a thanksgiving dinner organised by Harapan Komuniti in a church’s hall on Aug 3, 2011. Harapan Komuniti was an NGO founded by Koh.

She said that following the raid, her movements and those of her husband’s were monitored and they were detained seven times at immigration checkpoints.

Police contended that investigating officer Supari Mohammad found no links between the 2011 raid and the pastor’s disappearance.

In her suit filed early this year, Liew is seeking, among others, an order that the authorities should be held liable for Koh’s unlawful abduction and that they committed misfeasance in public office. She is also asking for damages.

In addition to Khalid and Supari, she named former IGP Mohamad Fuzi Harun, former Special Branch assistant director Awaludin Jadid, Bukit Aman CID chief Huzir Mohamed and Selangor CID chief Fadzil Ahmat as respondents.

Amri’s wife, Norhayati Mohd Ariffin, has also filed a lawsuit against the government over his disappearance.

The High Court has set Nov 5 for case mention for Liew’s suit. - FMT