Lawyer: Khairuddin willing to settle suit if compensation is adequate

Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla says he will write to the Attorney-General's Chambers to get them to consider the 1MDB critic as a victim of the BN government.

1MDB critic Khairuddin Abu Hassan seeks damages for being unlawfully detained three years ago after lodging reports overseas about funds missing from 1MDB.

PETALING JAYA: 1MDB critic Khairuddin Abu Hassan’s suit against the police and a former attorney-general for unlawful imprisonment and malicious prosecution could be settled out of court if the government is prepared to pay compensation, his lawyer said.

Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said he would be writing to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for them to consider Khairuddin as a victim of the previous Barisan Nasional government.

“We will write to them to consider our offer on the basis of upholding the rule of law and good governance,” he told FMT.

He said Khairuddin was prepared to settle the case without having to go through a court proceeding as there was now a new administration and government.

Haniff said this following a case management of Khairuddin’s suit before judicial commissioner Darryl SC Goon at the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.

Goon has fixed another case management on Sept 28.

At today’s proceeding, lawyer Nur Izzaida Zamani appeared for Khairuddin while senior federal counsel Isyaidi Ismail represented the government.

The defendants have filed their defence in response to Khairuddin’s suit filed on May 4.

Khairuddin named seven defendants, including former inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar and former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi.

He is seeking damages for being unlawfully detained three years ago after lodging reports overseas about funds missing from 1MDB.

He claimed that he was maliciously prosecuted and sought RM8.83 million in damages.

In 2015, police detained Khairuddin and his lawyer, Matthias Chang, for two months under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, a law dealing with terrorist activities.

Khairuddin alleged that his detention was carried out in bad faith as investigators and prosecutors of several countries had later declared that investigations were being carried out into money laundering and corruption involving funds related to 1MDB. -FMT