Justice Su Tiang Joo allowed Susanna Liew’s application for discovery of the document on grounds that the report is relevant in her ongoing lawsuit against the government and the police over Koh’s disappearance.
He ordered the government to produce the task force report within three days from today.
In the court’s ruling, Su said that the government had failed to justify why the report was classified a government secret.
“The defendants argued that the report is irrelevant to the trial and (even if used) is not binding on the court.
“However, in my view, whether it is binding or not is subject to the court’s evaluation,” the judge said.
Liew had sought access to the classified report on grounds that Koh’s family had the right to know the task force’s findings on his disappearance.
In 2020, she filed a lawsuit against the police, the inspector-general of police and a number of former high-ranking police officers over Koh’s disappearance.
The list of defendants includes former IGPs Khalid Abu Bakar and Fuzi Harun, and former principal assistant director of the Special Branch’s social extremism division, Awaludin Jadid.
Liew wants the authorities to be held liable for Koh’s unlawful abduction, and for misfeasance in public office. She is also seeking damages over his disappearance.
The trial continues on Aug 22.
Lawyer Jerald Gomez, appearing for the family, said they will call another two or three witnesses to testify in the case.
Suhakam held a public inquiry into the disappearance of Koh and activist Amri Che Mat between 2017 and 2019.
It concluded that both Koh and Amri were victims of enforced disappearances carried out by the state, specifically by the Special Branch.
The home ministry then established a special task force to investigate Suhakam’s conclusion.
Neither the ministry nor the task force have publicly released the report despite repeated calls to do so by various parties, including Suhakam and several other NGOs. The report has been classified as a government secret.
In another case, Amri’s wife, Norhayati Ariffin, was granted access to the report for purposes of her lawsuit against the government and police.