Former Esscom intelligence chief Mat Zaki Zain said he and three others, whom he did not name, filed the suit in the Tawau High Court on Aug 15.

In a statement, Mat Zaki, 59, said the criminal case against him and his co-plaintiffs went viral in the mainstream, alternative and social media.

“It made the public at large and our colleagues assume we were guilty of the murder for which we were charged,” he said, adding that their reputation and good name were damaged as a result.

“Despite our discharge and acquittal from the murder charge, we continued to be treated as if we were guilty of the crime and have faced various forms of pressure. We were also transferred out of Esscom without justification,” he said.

The suit also names former Selangor police chief Jalil Hassan and current Kuala Lumpur and Selangor police chiefs Rusdi Isa and Hussein Omar Khan as defendants.

“Those responsible for the false charges never made any effort to apologise or restore our dignity, reputation and good name, which had been severely affected by the baseless accusations made against us,” said Mat Zaki.

He said the plaintiffs were still recovering from the trauma caused by the defendants’ wrongful actions and accusations.

“Taking legal action was meant to be the last resort. However, given the continued harassment and humiliation suffered, and the disregard given to our appeals, we have been left with no choice but to seek legal recourse to restore our dignity in the eyes of the public,” he said.

Mat Zaki also said the case against him had tarnished his reputation within the intelligence community of Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, with whom he had previously established strong networks.

He listed the plaintiffs’ causes of action against the defendants as including unlawful arrest and detention, improper and malicious investigations, reputational damage, negligence, breach of duty and the violation of their constitutional rights to life and personal liberty.

In January, Mat Zaki and eight others were acquitted by the Tawau High Court of a charge of murdering Nurman Bakaratu, 61, after the deceased’s former wife, Nurimah Juli, 35, confessed to the murder during her testimony.

Following the confession, the prosecution halted its case, and Justice Duncan Sikodol acquitted all the accused.

Mat Zaki had faced two charges of conspiring to murder Nurman under Section 109 of the Penal Code read with Section 302 of the same law.

He was charged alongside six police officers and one civilian – Rosdi Rastam, 45, Denis Anit, 45, Fabian Rungam, 44,  Khairul Azman Bakar, 47, Azlan Sakaran, 40, John Kennedy Sanggah, 44, and Vivien Fabian, 34.