Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan was rearrested by police this evening under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, September 23, 2015.
Sacked Umno leader Datuk Khairuddin Abu Hassan, who was freed a day earlier over investigations for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government, was rearrested by police outside the court this evening.
As soon as he was released and walked out of the courtroom, a police party was waiting there and arrested Khairuddin under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma).
"He is now being investigated for offences under Section 124K and 124L of the Penal Code," said lawyer Matthias Chang.
Section 124K and 124L deal with sabotage and attempting to sabotage the state respectively.
Chang said Khairuddin was produced before a magistrate at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex in Jalan Duta about 4.30pm to be released after he was initially remanded for investigations into attempts to commit activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy, a charge under the Penal Code.
He said Khairuddin was taken to the Dang Wangi police station after he was arrested outside court.
Under Sosma, a suspect can be detained without trial for up to 30 days.
Khairuddin, the former Batu Kawan Umno division vice-chairman, was accused of sabotaging the country after it was discovered that he lodged reports with investigators in Hong Kong, Switzerland, France and the United Kingdom over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
He was picked by police from his home in Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, on Friday evening, just hours before he was barred from leaving the country, along with Chang, by Immigration officers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
On Saturday a magistrate issued a six-day remand order to allow police to complete their investigation. That remand order was to expire tomorrow.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar earlier said Khairuddin was detained and questioned as he chose foreign legal channels to put pressure on Malaysia over the 1MDB issue.
Khalid said that such action could be deemed as sabotaging the country and challenging the Malaysian legal system.
He also said Khairuddin lodged police reports in April on the 1MDB issue in Malaysia and enforcement agencies here must be given time to carry out their investigations.
Khairuddin was supposed to leave for the United States on Friday morning with Chang where they were to meet Federal Bureau of Investigations officers.
Khairuddin, who was dismissed from Umno after he was declared a bankrupt, said in his Facebook posting on Friday that police wanted to question him for handing in evidence related to the 1MDB scandal to the Swiss attorney-general's chambers.
Khairuddin handed the evidence to Swiss authorities on August 20, and urged them to investigate the debt-laden state investment arm's activities involving Swiss and international banks.
He insisted that he had only acted in the country's best interests, and that he had the locus standi to lodge a report with Swiss authorities.
But Putrajaya accused Khairuddin of lodging "false and politically motivated police reports" and pushing the same agenda as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has been incessantly calling for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's resignation.
- TMI
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