Article contributed by Adilah Ariffin, Executive Officer, Bar Council
On 20 Dec 2009, SUHAKAM continued its Public Inquiry into the arrest and detention of five lawyers of the Bar Council Legal Aid Centre (Kuala Lumpur). From 10:15 am onwards, the Panel of Commissioners heard evidence from the investigating officer, Asst Supt Hoo Chang Hook, two police photographers, Lance Corporal Zaiful Annuar bin Zainal and Constable Nor Zekry bin Bakri, and a police videographer, Corporal Syed Mahusin Syed Hassan.
The Inquiry is in respect of the wrongful arrests and detention of five members of the Legal Aid Centre (Kuala Lumpur) on 7 May 2009 - Fadiah Nadwa Fikri, Murnie Hidayah Anuar, Puspawati Rosman, Ravinder Singh Dhalliwal and Syuhaini Safwan. The Inquiry began on 14 Aug 2009 and had so far heard evidence from two of the five arrested lawyers (Puspawati and Fadiah), a number of witnesses arrested for participating in the candlelight vigil on that night, YB Elizabeth Wong who came to the Brickfields Police Station after her staff had been arrested, and a series of police witnesses comprising Brickfields Police Station CID chief, DSP Jude Pereira, and the arresting officers.
M Puravalen, Saha Deva Arunasalam and Valen Khor Xiou Shan represent the five lawyers. Andrew Khoo heads the Bar Council legal team holding a watching brief while Supt R Munnusamy is lead counsel for the Royal Malaysian Police.
Two major police witnesses – the OCPD of Brickfields Police Station, Wan Abdul Bari bin Wan Abdul Khalid, and Deputy OCPD, Supt Azri bin Abd Rahman - were again unavailable at this sitting due to a heart problem and a migraine, respectively. The two were also unable to attend the previous sitting on 22 Nov 2009 due to similar reasons. The OCPD is recuperating after his release from Institut Jantung Negara.
The Chairperson of the Public Inquiry, Dato’ Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, stressed to the counsel representing the Royal Malaysian Police that the two witnesses must appear before the Inquiry at the next sitting to substantiate the police case and that SUHAKAM would do its best to accommodate them in view of their medical conditions. He requested that their medical certificates be made available to SUHAKAM and also emphasised that SUHAKAM is hoping to conclude the Inquiry before the end of Jan 2010.
The Inquiry will continue on 16 and 17 Jan 2010 to hear testimony from the two major police witnesses before proceeding to cross-examination of the principal police witnesses. It is open to the public and will start at 10:00 am, at SUHAKAM Inquiry Room, Level 29, Menara Tun Razak, Jalan Raja Laut, 50050 Kuala Lumpur.
Members of the Bar and pupils in chambers are urged to attend the Inquiry to show strong support for access to legal representation and condemnation of the wrongful arrests and detention of lawyers who were performing their professional duties.
Click here for a news article on the proceedings of 20 Dec 2009.
For further information, contact Adilah Ariffin by telephone at 03-2031 3003 ext 160 or by email at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.