An official statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office said that Thomas will be probed under Section 8 of the Official Secrets Act (OSA), Section 23 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act and Sections 124I and 203A of the Penal Code.
Ismail said a special task force formed to look into allegations in Thomas’ book had initially identified 19 issues. These issues were then narrowed down into four main issues, namely:
- allegations levelled against the judiciary
- exposing government secrets
- abuse of power and professional negligence
- seditious statements.
In his statement, Ismail said the special task force had presented its findings at a Cabinet meeting earlier today.
The book, titled “My Story: Justice in the Wilderness”, was published in January last year.
“The report prepared by the task force over the past nine months has detailed every allegation made by Thomas in his book.
“I have instructed for further investigations to be immediately conducted by the relevant enforcement agencies to probe any possible offences by Thomas,” Ismail said in the statement.
Section 4 of the Sedition Act provides for a maximum jail term of three years or a RM5,000 fine, or both, while Section 23 of the MACC Act deals with abuse of power, providing up to 20 years in prison and a fine not less than five times the value of the bribe.
Section 203A of the Penal Code involves disclosure of information obtained in the performance of one’s duties, which provides for up to one year in prison, a maximum RM1 million fine, or both.
Meanwhile, Section 8 of the OSA involves wrongful communication of an official secret, providing for a jail sentence of between one to seven years.
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