Tengku Maimun: Police should have no issue finding M. Indira Gandhi's daughter
Former chief justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat said police could find the culprits behind the murder of cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya and her three aides, whose bodies were burnt to ashes and dumped in a river and nearby locations in Banting.
She said police also found the people responsible for the 2006 death of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu, leading to charges in court.
Altantuya was murdered and her body blown up with explosives in a jungle in Puncak Alam.
"So I personally think that there would be no strong obstacle for the police to locate the child (Prasana Diksa)," she said.
"I really do not know the reason why until now, more than 10 years down the line, the (child) has not been located and returned to the mother.
"But this is really beyond the judiciary. It is entirely up to the police to execute the warrant of arrest that has been issued by the civil court against the father, as well as the recovery order and the custody order.
"Unfortunately, I'm not able to answer as to whether this was deliberate or intentional," she said during a question and answer session at the Allianz Centre for Governance's (ACG) Distinguished Speaker Series forum titled "The Sanctity of Malaysia's Federal Constitution: Threats Solutions and Impact on National Governance".
Part of the panel were Allianz Malaysia Bhd director Tan Sri Zainun Ali, ACG director Zaharom Nain, ACG deputy director and principal research fellow Dr Syarifah Munirah Alatas and former National Human Rights Society president Abdul Rashid Ismail.
In 2014, Tengku Maimun was the dissenting judge on a three-member Court of Appeal panel which overturned a High Court order compelling the inspector-general of police to recover Indira's youngest daughter, Prasana Diksa.
In 2016, the Federal Court reversed this ruling and instructed the inspector-general of police to execute the warrant of committal against Indira's former husband after finding him guilty of contempt by refusing to hand over Prasana.
On Aug 11, the Court of Appeal reserved its decision on Indira's appeal in her suit against former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Bador and the government for allegedly failing to arrest her former husband and return her daughter.
The court set Aug 25 for case management.
Indira's lawyer, Rajesh Nagarajan, had said the police had failed to enforce the committal warrant according to the law.
He said police did not file any affidavits updating the court on their efforts to find K. Pathmanathan, who converted to Islam and took the name Riduan Abdullah.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
5 hours ago
- The Sun
Court of Appeal reduces welder's jail term for stepdaughter sexual assault
PUTRAJAYA: The Court of Appeal has reduced a welder's prison sentence from 24 years to 16 years for sexually assaulting his stepdaughter on four separate occasions. A three-member bench led by Justice Datuk Azman Abdullah allowed the 57-year-old man's appeal and reduced each charge's sentence from six years to four years. The court ordered the sentences to run consecutively from the date of his arrest on March 21, 2022. Justice Azman stated that while the gravity of the offences was not in doubt, the Sessions Court's original sentence of 24 years would have a 'crushing effect.' He said the bench accepted the defence counsel's submission that the principle of totality must be applied. In April 2022, the Sessions Court sentenced the man to 24 years' imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to four counts of sexually assaulting his 11-year-old stepdaughter, who is now 15. The offences were committed at a house in Padang Besar, Perlis, on several occasions in July 2021, early and late December 2021, and March 5, 2022. Both the accused and the prosecution filed cross-appeals to the High Court challenging the sentence, but the High Court dismissed them in January last year. Defence counsel Mohamad Zaidan Daud urged the appellate court to consider his client's age, contending that a lengthy custodial term would have a 'crushing effect.' He further requested that the sentences run concurrently, which would have resulted in a six-year term. Zaidan also argued that under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, the maximum penalty is 20 years' imprisonment, and therefore the 24-year sentence imposed by the Sessions Court exceeded the statutory limit. Deputy public prosecutor Iznina Hanim Hashim opposed the request, stressing that the offences were distinct acts committed on different occasions and therefore warranted consecutive sentences. She urged the court to impose a stiffer punishment, describing his acts as repugnant. – Bernama
Free Malaysia Today
5 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Court annuls land transfers over RM9.5mil loan
The Court of Appeal ordered the re-transfer of 16 properties to AJ Kasturi Sdn Bhd and MA Joseph Capital Sdn Bhd, with damages to be assessed, and costs of RM320,000. PUTRAJAYA : The Court of Appeal has unanimously ordered the re-transfer of 16 properties to two companies, ruling that the assets were unlawfully pledged as collateral to secure an illegal RM9.5 million loan. Delivering the broad grounds of judgment, Justice Ahmad Fairuz Zainol Abidin said the property transactions were null and void as the loans – given by eight individuals and one company to AJ Kasturi Sdn Bhd and MA Joseph Capital Sdn Bhd – were illegal moneylending transactions. 'The Moneylenders Act 1951 exists to protect borrowers and cannot be circumvented,' he said in allowing appeals brought by AJ Kasturi and MA Joseph Capital. The appeals court set aside a High Court ruling after the two borrower companies successfully established that the 16 sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) were a sham. 'The trial judge erred in law and facts, which warrants appellate intervention,' said Fairuz. The bench also set aside judgment for vacant possession, outstanding rental and damages entered by the High Court in favour of the lenders on their counterclaim. AJ Kasturi and MA Joseph Capital were also awarded general, exemplary and aggravated damages to be assessed by the High Court and RM320,000 in costs. Fairuz said the trial judge was wrong to conclude that the transactions were genuine property sales dealings. The panel was chaired by Justice Nazlan Ghazali, with Justice Faizah Jamaludin sitting as its other member. According to the facts of the case, the two companies had wanted to raise funds urgently for a property acquisition in 2014 after their application for a bank loan was rejected. A representative of the companies then approached lawyer M Pannirselvam who offered to arrange a loan with interest charged at 4% per month. The companies agreed and pledged the properties progressively as security for the loan. The lawyer and the lenders relied heavily on an instrument called a 'letter of option' which the appeals court held was questionable and defied commercial logic. The 'letter of option' was not executed by the lenders. The company repaid the loan in part but subsequently defaulted, whereupon the lawyer facilitated transfers of the properties to the lenders. Dissatisfied, the companies filed three suits to recover the properties, all of which were dismissed by the High Court, giving rise to the present appeal. Lawyers Hariharan Tara Singh and Tan Eng Seng represented the companies, while counsel R Thayalan appeared for the lawyer. Ringo Low and Faiz Abdul Rahim appeared for the lenders.
Malay Mail
6 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Appeals Court lowers 24-year jail term to 16 years for Perlis welder who sexually assaulted stepdaughter
PUTRAJAYA, Aug 21 — The Court of Appeal today reduced a welder's prison term from 24 years to 16 years for four counts of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter. A three-member bench led by Justice Datuk Azman Abdullah allowed the 57-year-old man's appeal, varying the sentence from six years to four years on each charge. The court ordered the sentences to run consecutively from the date of his arrest on March 21, 2022. Justices Datuk Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Datuk Noorin Badaruddin sat with Justice Azman on the panel. In delivering the court's decision, Justice Azman said while the gravity of the offences was not in doubt, the Sessions Court's original sentence of 24 years would have a 'crushing effect.' He said the bench accepted the defence counsel's submission that the principle of totality must be applied. In April 2022, the Sessions Court sentenced the man to 24 years' imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to four counts of sexually assaulting his 11-year-old stepdaughter, who is now 15. The offences were committed at a house in Padang Besar, Perlis, on several occasions — July 2021, early and late December 2021, and March 5, 2022. Both the accused and the prosecution filed cross-appeals to the High Court challenging the sentence, but the High Court dismissed them in January last year. At today's hearing, defence counsel Mohamad Zaidan Daud urged the appellate court to consider his client's age, contending that a lengthy custodial term would have a 'crushing effect.' He further requested that the sentences run concurrently, which would have resulted in a six-year term. Zaidan also argued that under Section 14(a) of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017, the maximum penalty is 20 years' imprisonment, and therefore the 24-year sentence imposed by the Sessions Court exceeded the statutory limit. Deputy public prosecutor Iznina Hanim Hashim opposed the request, stressing that the offences were distinct acts committed on different occasions and therefore warranted consecutive sentences. She urged the court to impose a stiffer punishment, describing his acts as repugnant. — Bernama
