Ex-AG's aide seeks to compel Rewcastle-Brown produce docs on Morais article

Former secretariat head in the Attorney-General’s Chambers V Mabel Muthayyah has filed an application to compel Sarawak Report founder Clare Rewcastle-Brown to produce allegedly reliable documents behind an article over the death of DPP Anthony Kevin Morais.

Speaking to Malaysiakini today, Mabel’s lead counsel David Gurupatham confirmed the filing of the discovery application under Order 24 of the Rules of Court 2012.

The application was filed in relation to Mabel’s RM100 million defamation suit against Rewcastle-Brown (above) over a 2015 Sarawak Report article “How AG's Office connived to prevent a second postmortem on Kevin Morais - Exclusive exposé”.

Order 24 Rule 3 states that (subject to other provisions under the Rules of Court) the court may at any time order any party to a cause or matter to give discovery, by making and serving on any other party, a list of the documents which are or have been in his possession, custody or power, and may at the same time or subsequently also order him to make and file an affidavit, verifying such a list and to serve a copy thereof on the other party.

Gurupatham today said that Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Azimah Omar had fixed April 10 to deliver her decision on the discovery application, following submissions by both parties’ lawyers in her chambers earlier this morning.

The lawyer said that the gist of the plaintiff’s submissions for the discovery application was that the defendant must produce the alleged reliable sources for the article because it involved serious accusations.

“One must put down (the documentary sources) for the allegation. What information do you have for the defamatory statement? Otherwise, it is hearsay,” Gurupatham said.

He noted that despite alleging Mabel of involvement in a serious crime, Rewcastle-Brown never lodged a police report with the allegedly reliable documentary sources that formed the basis of the article.

“The court has set April 10 for a decision on whether Sarawak Report (through listed defendant Rewcastle-Brown) is to be compelled to produce the documents that they claim to have,” Gurupatham said.

Meanwhile, Rewcastle-Brown’s lawyer Liew Teck Huat, who attended today’s chamber matter, said that they counter-submitted against the discovery application, arguing that Mabel is not entitled to proceed with the bid.

Liew said they argued this is because the discovery application under Order 24 was procedurally wrong, among other submissions.

On July 11 last year, Malaysiakini reported that Mabel filed the defamation suit against Rewcastle-Brown over the 2015 Sarawak Report article.

Currently, Mabel is a judge at the Sessions Court in Petaling Jaya.

Morais' remains were found in a steel drum after he was kidnapped from his car on the way to work in September 2015.

A former army doctor and five accomplices have been charged with his murder. - Mkini