The Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court has set Nov 17 to hear and decide on whistleblower Albert Tei’s leave application to cite Sabah caretaker chief minister Hajiji Noor for contempt of court.
This followed Hajiji’s alleged order for the Sabah immigration authority to bar Tei from entering the state, which led to him being turned away last week and prevented him from attending court proceedings for his alleged corruption trial.
According to a court transcript sighted by Malaysiakini, the date was set by Sessions Court judge Zaini Fishir this morning after hearing an ex parte application submitted via Messrs Chin Jingulam & Associates.
“Can we have it (the leave application hearing) at 10am on Nov 17 to hear the submission? If possible, we will give a decision on that day itself,” Zaini said during today’s session.
The judge also ordered Tei’s legal team to file their written submissions by the same date.
The hearing was set ahead of Tei’s next scheduled appearance in court for his criminal case on Nov 28. It should also be noted that the hearing date is during the Sabah election’s campaign period.
The businessperson had filed an application to cite Hajiji for contempt of court after he was turned away by the Sabah Immigration Department upon arrival at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) on Nov 23.
Tei had boarded a flight from Kuala Lumpur to the Bornean state to attend the mention of his corruption case at the Kota Kinabalu court the next day.
According to Sabah Immigration director Sh Sitti Saleha Habib Yussof, officers stopped Tei as their system showed that he had an active “Sabah Alert Notice” issued by the state government, and he was only allowed in if he was required to go to court.
However, Sitti Saleha claimed Tei did not inform the officer on duty at KKIA that he had a court case, but instead stated he wanted to enter Sabah for sightseeing and meet his friends, which the businessperson and his lawyer, Mahajoth Singh, have since refuted.
It was the second time Tei was blocked from entering Sabah after Sept 22, when he was stopped upon arrival at KKIA, when he also tried to attend his court case, purportedly because of a restriction from the Chief Minister’s Office.
However, the September incident was resolved after the immigration officer on duty at KKIA gave a conditional approval for Tei to enter Sabah for two days to attend his court hearing.
Tei is facing two corruption charges at the Kota Kinabalu Court, where he was accused of offering bribes to incumbent Tanjung Batu assemblyperson Andi Suryady Bandy and incumbent Sindumin assemblyperson Yusof Yacob. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.