High Court sets aside ejection of lawyer in inquest into doctor’s death

 Zaid Malek was ejected on May 7 after attempting to clarify if lawyers for Dr M Shintumathi’s family were being denied access to inquest documents.

Justice Noor Hisham Ismail said in the Shah Alam High Court the inquest proceedings’ records showed that lawyer Zaid Malek’s ejection lacked reasonable justification.

PETALING JAYA:

The Shah Alam High Court has set aside a coroner’s decision to eject a lawyer from an ongoing inquest into the death of a doctor under suspicious circumstances in 2023.

Justice Noor Hisham Ismail said the inquest records showed that the decision to eject lawyer Zaid Malek on May 7 lacked reasonable justification, Malaysiakini reported.

Hisham also said the coroner was wrong to order the parties to discuss matters involving document disclosure, as she should have clearly stated whether the requesting party was allowed access to the inquest documents.

“The coroner is hereby ordered to rehear the applicant’s (Zaid) application to obtain any document requested and to decide whether to allow disclosure of the documents.

“The court also lifts the suspension of the inquest proceedings, and directs it to continue on the dates scheduled,” he said after hearing submissions from all parties today.

Zaid had been ejected on the first day of the inquest after attempting to clarify whether lawyers representing the family of Dr M Shintumathi were being denied access to the documents.

Co-counsel Mahajoth Singh, P Purshotaman and Reenajit Kaur Golen reportedly walked out with Zaid, after submitting formal applications for the documents to the conducting officer in April and May without success.

The inquest continued without them, with deputy public prosecutor Rinisha Priyya Kuna Sakar acting as the conducting officer.

The Bar Council criticised the coroner’s decision, with its president, Anand Raj, saying that as the purpose of a coroner’s court is to determine what actually transpired when someone dies suddenly or in suspicious circumstances, the family’s counsel is crucial to proceedings as they look after the family’s interests.

Anand said that violating the right to counsel runs afoul of the rule of law, and that a lawyer must be permitted to discharge his duty in his client’s interests without fear or favour.

Shintumathi was reportedly found dead in her condominium unit in Petaling Jaya in 2023. An autopsy found that she died from asphyxiation by “compressed gas and plastic bag”.

An inquest commenced after 28 police reports were lodged and multiple appeals were submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers. - FMT