Jawi seeks to overturn RM160,000 award to Siti Kasim

 The federal territories Islamic religious department argues that even if its officers erred in arresting the activist in 2016, this does not constitute an abuse of power.

On July 18 last year, the High Court awarded Siti Kasim RM160,000 in damages and RM100,000 in legal costs after ruling in her favour in a civil suit against Jawi.

PETALING JAYA:

The federal territories Islamic religious department (Jawi) and 22 others have asked the Court of Appeal to overturn a ruling ordering them to pay lawyer and activist Siti Kasim RM160,000 for her wrongful arrest and detention in 2016.

Berita Harian reported that senior federal counsel Ng Siew Wee, representing Jawi, 15 of its officers and seven others, told the court that the officers were only trying to enforce a religious ruling, or fatwa.

She said even if the officers had misunderstood the law, an honest mistake should not automatically be treated as an abuse of power.

“An honest mistake about the law is not misconduct in public office,” she said.

Ng also said there was no evidence that the Jawi officers who lodged a police report against Siti had acted dishonestly to have her charged with obstructing a public servant.

She argued that the High Court judge had erred in assessing witness testimony and relying on evidence from an earlier criminal case.

However, Siti’s lawyer, A Saha Deva, said the officers went ahead with the raid without checking whether they had the legal authority to do so.

“They did not care whether they had the authority or not. They went ahead with the raid anyway,” he said.

Saha Deva said the High Court had properly considered the evidence and applied the law in finding the officers had misused their powers.

The case dates back to April 3, 2016, when Siti was arrested during a Jawi raid on a private fundraising dinner. She was taken to the Dang Wangi police headquarters and held for about four hours before being released.

She was later charged with obstructing a Jawi officer from carrying out official duties, but was acquitted by the magistrates’ court in August 2020 after the prosecution failed to establish a case against her.

Siti filed a civil suit against Jawi and the government in September 2019, claiming compensation for wrongful arrest and illegal detention, saying she had only been carrying out her duties as a lawyer during the raid.

On July 18 last year, the High Court ruled in her favour and awarded her RM160,000 in damages and RM100,000 in legal costs.

The three-member Court of Appeal bench chaired by Justice Noorin Badaruddin, sitting with Justices Shahnaz Sulaiman and Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid, fixed Nov 5 for case management to determine the date of its decision. - FMT