Latest news with #SusannaLiew
Free Malaysia Today
03-06-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
I didn't look for new leads, police officer tells Pastor Koh trial
Missing Pastor Raymond Koh's wife wants the authorities to be held liable for her husband's abduction and for misfeasance in public office. (File pic) KUALA LUMPUR : An investigating officer who probed Pastor Raymond Koh's disappearance told the High Court today that he did not continue the investigation to look for new leads in the case. Ahmad Marzuki Ibrahim said he took over the investigation from his senior colleague, Supari Muhammad, in February 2019, and he only focussed on looking for a suspect, one Saiful Bahari Abdul Aziz. 'I wanted to take Saiful's statement to know if he wanted to make any denials (of his involvement in Koh's disappearance),' he said when testifying in the hearing of a lawsuit filed by Koh's wife, Susanna Liew, against the police and government over the pastor's disappearance. Liew wants the authorities to be held liable for her husband's abduction and for misfeasance in public office. Marzuki said he could not track down Saiful until 2022, when he was transferred to another department. To a question from Liew's lawyer, Jerald Gomez, Marzuki said he did not know who was appointed the new investigating officer after his transfer. Marzuki also pointed out that Lam Chang Nam, a former e-hailing driver, was charged in the magistrates' court in 2018 with kidnapping Koh. Gomez then asked the officer if he was called to testify for the prosecution since he was the investigating officer on record. Marzuki said he was not called. He acknowledged that there was no evidence from statements recorded from Lam and Koh's son, Jonathan, to implicate the former e-hailing driver in the kidnapping. Lam was acquitted at the end of the prosecution's case but in 2021 was ordered to enter his defence on a charge of extorting Koh's family. The hearing before Justice Su Tiang Joo continues on July 8.
Free Malaysia Today
28-05-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Shia, Christian activities posed no threat to country, Pastor Koh trial told
Pastor Raymond Koh was abducted on Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, eight years ago. (File pic) KUALA LUMPUR : A former senior officer with Bukit Aman's Special Branch told the High Court here today that Shia and Christianisation activities posed no threat to the security of the country. Mohamad Nadzri Mat Isa, a former leader of the Special Branch's social extremism division, said the finding was made known to him at a briefing by his officers shortly after he took over the unit in August 2018. 'I was also told about Pastor (Raymond) Koh's case, which was a hot topic. As it was under investigation by the criminal investigation department, we did not interfere,' he said. Nadzri was testifying in a lawsuit brought by Koh's wife, Susanna Liew, against the police and the government over Koh's disappearance after he was abducted on Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya eight years ago. Liew wants the authorities to be held liable for her husband's abduction and for misfeasance in public office. Nadzri told the court he was aware that his predecessor, Awaludin Jadid, had taken a 'conflicting stand' about Shia and Christians. A task force set up by the government in 2019 to probe the disappearances of Koh and another activist, Amri Che Mat, named Awaludin and nine others as persons of interest. Asked during cross-examination about Awaludin's remarks, Nadzri refused to comment. However, lawyer Jerald Gomez, appearing for Liew, pressed the witness for a response, pointing out the contradiction. 'He (Awaludin) said in a ceramah that (those professing) Shia are now in our judiciary, religious departments and even in the police, and it would be hard to 'bring cases' against them,' the lawyer said. 'This is what the task force concluded. I don't want to answer,' said Nadzri. When Gomez pressed further, Nadzri told Justice Su Tiang Joo that he did not wish to answer questions about Awaludin. Gomez then told the trial judge that he will take up the matter during submissions. 'No agenda against Koh's wife' Earlier today, the court heard testimony from investigating officer Supari Muhammad, who claimed he had no 'agenda' against Liew when questioning her on proselytisation , instead of Koh's abduction. 'From the record, we found out about the event he organised at DUMC (Damansara Utama Methodist Church) which was said to be a proselytisation event. 'I just want to know whether he had enemies because he lodged a report saying that he received bullets . I am not blaming Madam Susan (Liew) or the pastor,' he said. Supari said he had yet to find any motive for Koh's alleged abduction. The hearing continues on June 3.
Free Malaysia Today
27-05-2025
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Pastor Koh, Amri's ‘abductions' similar, cop tells court
Susanna Liew is suing the police and the government over the disappearance of her husband, Pastor Raymond Koh in 2017. KUALA LUMPUR : The investigating officer probing Pastor Raymond Koh's disappearance told the High Court that the circumstances of his alleged abduction were similar to those surrounding another missing activist, Amri Che Mat. Supari Muhammad agreed that windshields of the vehicles used by both activists had been smashed, and that a group of individuals had alighted from several sports utility vehicles to drag them out of their cars. He said both operations took less than a minute each. He also admitted that Koh and Amri were both founders of their respective NGOs, and that their abductions took place in public areas. Amri , who founded Perlis Hope, had left his home in Kangar at about 11.30pm on Nov 24, 2016. His car was found at a construction site near the Bukit Cabang Sports School early the next morning. 'If they were police operations, there would usually be marks or badges (on the SUVs). But in these cases there were none. 'I can't say they were carried out by the police because the MO (modus operandi) can be copied (replicated),' Supari said, when testifying in a lawsuit filed by Koh's wife, Susanna Liew, against the police and the government over Koh's disappearance. Supari is one of the defendants named in the suit. Liew wants the authorities to be held liable for her husband's abduction and for misfeasance in public office. Supari also told the court that the now defunct Special Task Force on Organised Crime (Stafoc) coordinated investigations for Koh and Amri as well as the missing couple, Joshua Hilmy and Ruth Sitepu. Asked by Liew's lawyer, Jerald Gomez, whether the police managed to track down the vehicles involved in Koh's abduction from footage of CCTVs located on major roads and highways, Supari said most of the CCTVs under the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) purview were not functioning at the time. Gomez: But in (the late deputy public prosecutor) Kevin Morais's murder case, the police managed to track the suspects through the CCTV footage. Supari: Those CCTVs were under the purview of their local council. We tried to get the footage but failed. Trial judge Justice Su Tiang Joo then asked Supari how the authorities were able to manage the community's safety and wellbeing if the CCTVs were not functioning. Supari told the court that the equipment came under the purview of the state government. He said the issue has been raised at state exco meetings. On whether the police tried to obtain CCTVs from highway concessionaires, Supari said his officers managed to obtain black and white images of traffic flow but could not identify the vehicles' registration numbers. Former e-hailing driver acquitted of kidnapping Koh Supari also told the court that the police had, in 2017, arrested Lam Chang Nam, a former e-hailing driver, for allegedly blackmailing Koh's son, Jonathan. In 2018, Lam was subsequently charged for kidnapping Koh. However, Supari told the court that his investigations indicated that Lam was not aware that Koh had been kidnapped. 'The instruction from the (Attorney-General's Chambers) was to file a charge under Section 365 of Penal Code (for kidnapping). 'Lam Chang Nam was acquitted at the end of the prosecution's case,' he added. The hearing continues on May 28.
Free Malaysia Today
15-05-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Pastor Koh's family assisted police in probe, cop tells court
Susanna Liew is suing the government, the police and several of their officers over the disappearance of her husband, Pastor Raymond Koh, on Feb 13, 2017. KUALA LUMPUR : An investigating officer told the High Court here today that Pastor Raymond Koh's family fully cooperated with the police and provided assistance throughout the course of their investigation into his disappearance. Supari Muhammad said Koh's son, Jonathan, had handed him a CCTV recording a few days after Feb 13, 2017, when Koh was said to have been abducted along Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. 'I was thankful for their help,' he said when testifying in a lawsuit filed by Koh's wife, Susanna Liew, against the police and the government over Koh's disappearance. Supari is one of the defendants named in the suit. Liew wants the authorities to be held liable for her husband's abduction and for misfeasance in public office. Supari said his officers had tried to obtain CCTV footage from the residents of Jalan SS4B/10 on the day of the alleged abduction, but no one was willing to cooperate. 'It was hard for us (the police) but members of the public (like the Koh family) might have succeeded,' he said. Supari also said he was assigned to the case on the date of the incident but was not able to ascertain if it was a kidnapping case. He said he had informed his subordinate, Ali Asra Abu Bakar, to check if any authority or agency had conducted operations involving arrests that day. 'I found out the identity of the victim later that day after I obtained information from the owner of the car he was driving. The last signal from the victim's phone was detected around Taman Mayang,' She said. Asked by Liew's lawyer, Steven Thiru, whether his officers had interviewed members of public around Taman Mayang to determine the presence of suspicious vehicles in the area, Supari said no statements were taken. Steven: Did you and your officers hold any roadblocks (around the Taman Mayang area)? Supari: No. Supari said he received information about CCTV recordings taken from outside Koh's apartment a few days before the date of the incident. He said the footage showed the presence of two suspicious vehicles parked outside, and that they would follow Koh whenever he left his house. 'When we checked the number plates, we found out that they were fake,' he said. Police investigating Koh instead? Supari said the police recorded a statement from Liew on the night of the incident which ran until the early hours of the morning. He agreed that most of the questions they asked Liew were not related to Koh's abduction, but touched on the issue of proselytisation. 'We found out that the victim was active in religious activities and we wanted to know if he had enemies,' he said. He also claimed that Liew had given 'excuses' for not answering the questions out to her. He cited an event organised by Koh at Damansara Utama Methodist Church in 2011 which, he said, was attended by Muslims. Steven: She was defensive because you were accusing him (of proselytisation)? Don't forget that her husband had been abducted (earlier that day). Supari: I disagree, I just wanted to know if anyone hates him. Steven: So did you manage to narrow down (the list of suspicious persons) in the end? Supari: No. The hearing before Justice Su Tiang Joo continues on May 27.
