The Malaysian civil court granted leave to Wong Chun Khuen to proceed with a judicial review to challenge the legality of the Singaporean’s detention for 8 days by immigration authorities between March and April in 2018.
However, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur did not grant leave for Wong to commence with a judicial review over his purported illegal detention for 13 days earlier in March that same year.
The 65-year-old retired engineer’s counsel Arun Kasi confirmed with Malaysiakini regarding the outcome of the Singaporean’s judicial review leave application delivered by judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid.
“The court today allowed the leave in respect of the second count of the illegal detention from March 27 to April 3, 2018.
“However, the court refused the leave in respect of the first count, that is, in respect of the (alleged) illegal detention from March 14 to 26, 2018, on the ground that the time allowed to apply for the judicial review has passed, and the court was not satisfied with the reason for the delay (in filing the judicial review over this portion of alleged wrongful detention),” Arun said.
With leave granted, the civil court would later set a separate date to hear submissions from parties over the merits of the legal challenge. The judicial review is set for further case management on June 12.
On Jan 5 this year, Wong filed legal action against the inspector-general of police - the sole respondent who is not named in cause papers - over the police’s alleged failure to receive, investigate, and/or take appropriate action over his complaints.
Previously, before the Kuala Lumpur High Court, the retiree scored two earlier legal victories over his alleged illegal detention by Malaysian immigration - from March 14 to 26, 2018, and from March 27 to April 3, that same year.
Malaysiakini had previously highlighted his plight linked to detention by the immigration authorities in Johor.
Undocumented immigrants
It was reported that Wong was arrested by immigration officers along with a few other foreigners during a raid on his house in Johor Bahru at about 11.05pm on Feb 28, 2018.
After the arrest, he was detained at the Pekan Nenas Immigration Detention Centre. He was only produced before a magistrate on March 26 of the same year, where he pleaded guilty to an immigration offence under Section 55E of the Immigration Act for harbouring undocumented immigrants. He was fined RM30,000.
However, he was not released immediately after he paid the fine. Wong was detained for another eight days at the Kluang Prison, and then at the Pekan Nenas Immigration Depot before he was released on April 4, 2018.
Senior federal counsel Liew Horng Bin appeared for the Attorney-General's Chambers in the current judicial review. - Mkini
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