Suhakam inquiry: Cop unsure of Joshua Hilmy, wife religious activities

A police officer who was involved in the investigation into the disappearance of Pastor Joshua Hilmy and Ruth Sitepu told a Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) inquiry today that he was unsure about the couple's religious activities.

Shafiee Marsidi, a police assistant superintendent, is the 11th witness testifying in the public inquiry into the missing case of Joshua and his wife in November 2016.

"I am not sure about the religious activities of the husband and his wife.

"I only received information that this person (Joshua) was a Muslim and had converted to Christian and was called a paderi (pastor)," Shafie said during the public hearing held at Suhakam headquarters in Menara TH Perdana, Kuala Lumpur this morning.

He said this when answering a question from commissioner Hishamuddin Yunus whether Shafie had any information about the allegations against Joshua and his wife, where they were allegedly involved in converting Muslims to Christianity.

Instead, Shafie said, he was only told by a colleague that Joshua was also being investigated under the Sedition Act.

However, he admitted that he did not investigate to find out about their religious activities.

He also confirmed that it did not cross his mind that Joshua and his wife could have gone missing or kidnapped because of the allegation that they were converting Muslims to become Christians.

For the record, the inquiry was conducted to find out if Joshua and Ruth were victims of enforced disappearances.

They were last seen on Nov 30, 2016, but a report on their missing was only lodged on March 6, 2017.

Meanwhile, Shafie, who investigated the case from March 2017 until December 2017 before he was transferred to the Police College in Cheras, said he did not know that Ruth was an Indonesian.

"I don't know," he said when asked if Ruth is an Indonesian.

Ruth hailed from a fishing village Nambiki in North Sumatera, Indonesia.

'Joshua was investigated under Sedition Act'

Meanwhile, during its afternoon session, the inquiry heard from another police officer that Joshua and Ruth were once wanted by the police to facilitate a probe under the Sedition Act over a Facebook post in 2014 that had allegedly insulted Islam.

This was told by police officer Nurul Huda Bustami, who is the 12th witness to testify in the public inquiry.

According to Nurul Huda, she was assigned as the investigating officer after police received three reports lodged by an NGO called Wira Perkasa.

However, there was no evidence to connect the Facebook posting to Joshua and the case was later classified as NFA (no further action), she added.

"I have previously recorded a police report against him dated June 27, 2014, at the Rembau district police headquarters. The report was lodged by a contractor named Salam Sarip who represented Wira Perkasa NGO of Chembong branch.

"He came with a woman and six other men. They lodged three reports, all about the same matter," Nurul Huda said when asked by the inquiry to explain about the police reports against Joshua.

She added that police had then placed Joshua's name, who was then known as Hilmy Hanim, in their wanted list after the man could not be located.

"After I decided to investigate Salam's report, I requested the Commercial Crime Investigation Department's Cyber Division to help with this case by identifying the owner of (the account) that made the posting but did not receive any information.

"After two months, I requested (assistance) from the Communications and Multimedia Commission. They then sent me a photograph of the couple with a red Kancil car, together with its plate number.

"Based on the plate number which I checked with the Road Transport Department, they informed me that the car owner's name was Hilmy bin Hanim whose address was in Ipoh, Perak," she said.

Nurul Huda said she then went to Ipoh and another address in Butterworth, Penang, but could not find the individual named Hilmy Hanim.

"When we asked for an individual named Hilmy... we could not get (information)," she said, adding that efforts to locate were also made through telephone number but to no avail.

"I had to place his name under the wanted list sometime early October 2014," she added.

Nurul Huda said that she, however, took out Hilmy's name after receiving an order from the Attorney-General's Chambers to put the case as NFA.

The inquiry, chaired by Hishamuddin and assisted by Suhakam commissioners Jerald Joseph and Madeline Berma, is scheduled to continue on Sept 10. - Mkini