Latest news with #DusukiMokhtar
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Zara Qairina inquest to start within weeks, says AG
Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar said the date would depend on the schedules of the coroner's court and the lawyers involved. PETALING JAYA : An inquest into the death of Sabah schoolgirl Zara Qairina Mahathir, 13, is expected to start at the end of this month or early September, according to Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar. Dusuki was quoted by Buletin TV3 as saying the date would depend on the schedules of the coroner's court and the lawyers involved. He said his department would seek an immediate start to the inquest. 'The investigators have taken the statement of a pathology expert. However, the autopsy report is still being prepared,' he said. The coroner's court in Kota Kinabalu is expected to set the date of the inquest tomorrow. The inquest had been requested by the Sabah state director of prosecutions. On Aug 13, the Attorney-General's Chambers said it had decided an inquest would be held to establish the cause and circumstances of Zara's death, including whether any criminal elements were involved. Zara was found unconscious at 4am on July 16 after allegedly falling from the third floor of her school's hostel in Papar, Sabah. She died at Queen Elizabeth I Hospital the following day. Her mother, Noraidah Lamat, filed a police report on Aug 3 stating that she recalled seeing bruises on parts of her daughter's back during the Islamic funeral washing ritual. Zara's body was exhumed last weekend to allow for a post-mortem.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Mum of UTM cadet seeks exhumation of son's body for second post-mortem
Ummu Haiman Bee Daulatgun said there are many contradictions in the reasons and cause of death provided by the authorities. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : The mother of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia cadet Syamsul Haris Shamsudin has filed a notice of motion to exhume his body for a second post-mortem and to initiate an inquest into his death. Ummu Haiman Bee Daulatgun, 45, filed the documents at the Shah Alam High Court, Harian Metro reported. According to the court documents filed by Messrs Naran Singh & Co, she named Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail and Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar as the respondents. Ummu is seeking an order for Kuala Lumpur Hospital's forensic experts to conduct the post-mortem within 14 days after exhumation, in the presence of forensic pathologist Dr Bhupinder Singh and a representative from her legal team. She also wants the findings to be submitted within a month. She said the initial post-mortem was not done by a hospital forensic specialist but by a UD10-grade medical officer, and that she and her family were not allowed to view the full body. 'I believe there are criminal elements in my son's death, given the many contradictions in the stated reasons and cause of death,' she was quoted as saying. Ummu is also asking for Bukit Aman's criminal investigation department to form a new investigation team, similar to the one in the Zara Qairina Mahathir case. Higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said on Aug 12 that the joint investigative committee formed to investigate Syamsul's death is expected to complete its report soon. Syamsul, 22, the eldest of three siblings, died on July 28 under unclear circumstances while undergoing Palapes training at the Army Combat Training Centre (Pulada) in Ulu Tiram, Johor. He began training on July 26 and was expected to complete it on Aug 3.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Shamsul Bolhassan is new AGC civil division head
Shamsul Bolhassan was previously deputy head (I) in the AGC's civil division. (AGC pic) PETALING JAYA : Shamsul Bolhassan has been appointed head of the civil division in the Attorney-General's Chambers, succeeding Donald Joseph Franklin, who is now a judicial commissioner. A letter signed by Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar said the appointment took effect on Aug 13. Mohamad Al-Saifi Hashim takes over Shamsul's former position as deputy head (I), while Ahmad Hanir Hambaly replaces Al-Saifi as deputy head (II). Former prosecution director of the AGC's Kuala Lumpur branch Badius Zaman Ahmad has been appointed deputy head of the prosecution division. He replaces Syed Faisal Syed Amir, who was also made a judicial commissioner. Asmah Musa, the AGC's former head of the appeals unit, was also among the 23 judicial commissioners appointed effective Aug 18.
Free Malaysia Today
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Umno division chiefs ask AG to drop appeal against Najib's house arrest bid
Some of the 145 Umno division chiefs who had gathered at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur tonight. KUALA LUMPUR : Umno division chiefs have called on Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar to drop his appeal against a Court of Appeal decision allowing former Umno president Najib Razak to initiate a judicial review related to a royal addendum allowing him to serve the remainder of his prison sentence under house arrest. The AG is appealing to set aside a majority 2-1 ruling on Jan 6 that allowed the former prime minister's application to adduce additional evidence and order the High Court to hear his judicial review. In a statement, they said that as the principal legal adviser to the government, the AG should 'uphold' the royal addendum and 'support justice'. The statement was issued on behalf of 160 Umno division chiefs, 145 of whom gathered at a hotel here tonight. They also proposed that all 191 Umno divisions nationwide that have yet to hold their conferences include a special motion on the addendum during their respective meetings. 'This motion is crucial as a show of party unity and solidarity in defending the institution of Malay rulers and upholding the principle of justice for all,' they said. The division chiefs also called on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to implement the addendum. The Federal Court was told last Wednesday that AG Dusuki Mokhtar had acknowledged the existence of the addendum but was disputing whether it was genuine or valid. Najib wants the government to implement the order, dated Jan 29 last year, allowing him to serve the remainder of his jail sentence in the SRC International case under house arrest. The former prime minister learnt about the addendum soon after the Federal Territories Pardons Board announced in early February last year that his 12-year jail term in connection with the SRC International case had been halved and his RM210 million fine reduced to RM50 million.
Free Malaysia Today
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
AG can still order police probe into Beng Hock's death, says lawyer
Teoh Beng Hock died on July 16, 2009 after being questioned for hours by MACC officers. PETALING JAYA : The attorney-general (AG) can still direct that the police investigate who was responsible for the death of former political aide Teoh Beng Hock under a more serious offence based on a Court of Appeal ruling issued 11 years ago, a lawyer said today. Salim Bashir said investigations could be conducted for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, causing death by negligence, or voluntarily causing grievous hurt. 'The Court of Appeal in 2014 found that Teoh's death was accelerated by the 'unlawful acts of persons unknown' and that the AG could direct the police to conduct further investigations,' he told FMT. He said there is no limitation period within which charges must be brought against a suspect. However, the prosecution must ensure that it is able to call the necessary witnesses and present the required evidence in court to support the charge, he added. Salim was speaking to FMT after two senior DAP leaders called for AG Dusuki Mokhtar to explain in detail why he thinks there is insufficient evidence to prosecute anyone for criminal offences which may have resulted in Teoh's death. Speaking on behalf of the party's central committee, its national chairman Gobind Singh Deo and secretary-general Loke Siew Fook called on the AG to review his decision and push ahead with charges against those responsible without further delay. FMT has contacted Dusuki, who is also the public prosecutor, for his response. Salim, a former Malaysian Bar president, said the AG under Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution and Section 376 of the Criminal Procedure Code had the discretion whether to prosecute a suspect, and which provision of the law to utilise. Last week, lawyer-activist M Visvanathan told a gathering in solidarity with Teoh's family that three doctors had during an inquiry said that the deceased had injuries to his neck, which occurred before he fell from the fifth floor of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam. 'These injuries would have been capable of making Teoh immobile or unconscious,' he said when contacted, adding that a judge in the Court of Appeal bench stated that there was no necessity to 'engage Sherlock Holmes to investigate because the circumstances are so credible'. Visvanathan said it was absurd for police to confine their recent investigation to wrongful confinement under Section 342 of the Penal Code as Teoh had been detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for lawful investigations. Lawyer Rafique Rashid Ali called for the AG to issue a press conference instead of a letter to Teoh's family explaining why he had classified the case as requiring no further action (NFA). 'As the guardian of public interest, the AG should be transparent and accountable as this is a high-profile public interest case, and there needs to be closure to the family's predicament,' he said. Rafique said that in October 1994, then AG Mohtar Abdullah announced through the media that he was not pressing charges against an influential political leader as he had no prima facie evidence to pursue a charge of raping an underaged girl. However, Mohtar said he was not exonerating the suspect of the alleged offence. He said another AG, Apandi Ali, had in January 2016 told the media that then prime minister Najib Razak had been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing in the RM2.6 billion channelled into Najib's bank accounts and finance ministry-owned firm SRC International Sdn Bhd. Apandi said there was 'insufficient evidence' to implicate Najib and ordered MACC to close its three investigation papers. However, in 2018, Najib was charged with corruption in the SRC International and 1MDB case. Teoh died on July 16, 2009 after being questioned for hours by MACC officers. An inquest was held and the coroner returned an open verdict. However, the Court of Appeal ruled that Teoh's death was caused by 'one or more persons unknown', including MACC officers. In 2019, police launched an investigation under Section 342 of the Penal Code for wrongful confinement. In November last year, the High Court ordered the police to complete its long-delayed investigations within six months. Before 2018, two special investigation teams were set up – one in 2011 and the other in 2015 – to look into Teoh's death. Both cases were classified as NFA by the public prosecutor.
