KUALA LUMPUR: The public inquiry by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) into missing Pastor Raymond Koh concluded today after more than one year.
Panel chairman Mah Weng Kwai said this after the inquiry heard from three witnesses today.
A total of 16 people have testified in the inquiry, including former inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar.
Mah also told Koh’s family lawyer Jerald Gomez and police observer R Munusamy to hand in their submissions before Jan 15, 2019.
Former Kedah police chief Asri Yusoff and Bukit Aman’s Special Task Force on Organised Crime (Stafoc) officer Hazrul Kamis testified before the panel today.
The third witness was Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew, who was recalled today.
Asri told the inquiry that several items seized at the home of a drug and human trafficking suspect in Pengkalan Hulu, Perak, were not displayed at his press conference on June last year at the Kedah police headquarters.
“Items such as pictures resembling Pastor Raymond, his car and house, along with some religious items, were not shown to the media because of the case’s sensitivity,” he said when asked by Munusamy why he did not want to display other items seized in the raid.
Asri told the press conference that police found a semi-automatic pistol, a packet of heroin and two sets of number plates from the suspect’s home.
Asri said he never saw these items as he was only briefed by his subordinates on the suspect, who was shot dead by the Stafoc team.
Hazrul told the panel he took part in the raid in Baling, Kedah, to arrest the suspect, who was allegedly involved in drug and human trafficking activities.
Speaking to reporters after the inquiry, Liew said she was relieved because the hearing into her husband’s disappearance had finally ended after a year.
“We are looking forward to the inquiry’s outcome and hope we can get closure,” she added.
Koh, 63, was abducted from his car by a group of more than 10 men on Feb 13 last year.
CCTV footage showed at least three black vehicles were involved in the abduction. Many speculated that his abduction might have been connected to his alleged attempts at spreading Christianity, although his family has dismissed such claims.
A ride-hailing driver, Lam Chang Nam, has claimed trial in the Magistrate’s Court for abducting Koh, along with seven men at large this year.
He was also accused of blackmailing Koh’s son, Jonathan, last year.
Previously, in January, the inquiry stopped the hearing after Lam was charged. Suhakam commissioners later ruled that “the subject matter in court is not the same as in this public inquiry”.
Suhakam’s inquiry into missing Perlis activist Amri Che Mat ended in October with no conclusion about his whereabouts, almost two years after he was allegedly abducted on Nov 24, 2016 near his house in Kangar.
The inquiry will present its findings and recommendations to Parliament next year.
An inquiry into the disappearances of Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife, Ruth Sitepu, last seen on Nov 30, 2016, has yet to begin.
Suhakam will consider, among other things, whether the cases of Koh, Amri, Joshua and Ruth were cases of enforced or involuntary disappearance, as defined under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. -FMT
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