Jamal resurfaces, says was not running but 'resting'

After more than 34 hours of going missing from his bail arraignment and sparking a police hunt, Sungai Besar Umno chief Jamal Md Yunos has finally emerged, promising authorities his full cooperation.

In a recording sent to reporters in the early hours this morning, he denies running away from hospital during the out of court bail proceedings, and instead put the whole fiasco down to a misunderstanding.

He claimed that he had rushed off from hospital on Friday to Tabung Haji as soon as he thought his remand was over so that he could withdraw money needed to cover the bail and other necessary costs related to the case.

Taking into account he was unwell, he added that he decided to rest for a while even though he received a call notifying him that police were on the lookout for him.

"When I left the hospital, I was chasing time as I was concerned the Tabung Haji office would close. Once I succeeded in withdrawing the money, I received a call that I was being hunted by police for fleeing from the hospital. In my unwell state, I deemed it best I got some rest first and insya-Allah I will still give my fullest cooperation to the police," he said in the recording.

The bail proceedings had been conducted at the KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital in Kuala Lumpur as Jamal was warded there due to back pains.

The leader of the Red Shirts, however, failed to explain who had contacted him and why he did not inform the police or his lawyer of this decision sooner. 

Lawyer: Jamal's situation exploited

His lawyer Mohd Imran Tamrin (below) had yesterday opined that Jamal's disappearance could be due to unfamiliarity with out of court bail proceedings and urged the latter to turn himself in.

Jamal further assured today that he would be presenting himself in at the police station, but did not specify when. 

He said: "So, for me, this was all a misunderstanding on my part... In my mind, I think the (out of court) proceedings could have been completed but there were several documents that I did not sign upon bail.

"It is not that I ran away from the police. Insya-Allah I will be going to the station and will give my fullest cooperation to the police."

This was later this morning confirmed by Mohd Imran in a statement, in which he said he was informed by Jamal that the latter would present himself in court to complete the bail process.

"He (Jamal) stated that he is still unwell and is in the process of recovering. He will be present in court to complete bail process, and will cooperate with police once he is truly healthy."

Mohd Imran, who is also the Sungai Panjang assemblyperson, added that his client's situation was "exploited" as a result of the misunderstanding.

Police have been informed of the latest developments, he said.

Twitterjaya pokes fun 

The events took place after he was charged before Magistrate Raja Noor Adilla Raja Mahyaldin under Section 290 of the Penal Code, which is related to being a public nuisance.

The case is related to a protest where he smashed beer bottles (picture) in front of the Selangor state secretariat building in Shah Alam last year. He claimed trial to the charge but could face being slapped with an RM400 fine if found guilty.

He had also been arrested at the same hospital for for a firearms offence, after a photograph of a man resembling Jamal purportedly with a gun, went viral.

He was permitted bail of RM3,000, however, he was found missing from his hospital room at about 3.30pm before the proceedings could be completed. 

As at 10pm yesterday, some 30 hours later, police said there will still no trace of him.

Netizens have also taken to social media to poke fun over the disappearance.  -Mkini