Justice Su Tiang Joo ruled that the government and the police had breached their statutory duties, and that their officers had acted unconstitutionally.

The court ordered the two parties to pay RM2 million in general damages, RM1 million in exemplary damages, as well as special damages of RM14,457.52.

It also awarded Amri’s wife, Norhayati Ariffin, costs of RM250,000.

Amri, the founder of the NGO Perlis Hope, left his home at about 11.30pm on Nov 24, 2016. His car was found at a construction site at the Bukit Cabang Sports School in Perlis early the next morning.

Norhayati filed a suit against the government and the police over the manner in which they investigated his disappearance.

In his decision, Su ruled that Norhayati had legal standing to bring the action.

He noted that she had been forced sometime in 2023 to seek an annulment or rescission of her marriage (fasakh) to Amri at the shariah court in order to qualify for financial aid from the state government.

“The fasakh does not change the fact (that Norhayati has legal standing).

“She said she did it to enable her children to get financial assistance, and that she still loves her husband and hopes he will return home one day.

“In my view, for the defendants (government) to contend and urge the court to deny her the right to file this action is manifestly unjust and inhumane,” he said.

Su described the manner in which investigating officer (IO) Khor Yi Shuen probed Amri’s disappearance as “disturbing”.

“The IO did not pursue the investigation with seriousness when he ought to have done so,” he said, adding that Khor had previously told the court he had perceived Shia Islam to be a “threat” to national security.

He said that for more than seven years, there had been a lack of effort on the part of Khor and the police to update Norhayati on what happened to Amri.

He also pointed out that Khor had failed to act speedily in pursuing possible leads as well as recording witness statements.

AG must explain ‘inconsistencies’, says judge

The court also took issue with the manner in which the Attorney-General’s Chambers, representing the government and the police in the proceedings, had conducted their defence.

Su said their defence was a “bare denial” and that the authorities were seen to be “suppressing” evidence from Norhayati.

He noted that Norhayati had filed a judicial review application to obtain the classified task force report about Amri, which the government had attempted to deny her access to.

“According to the task force report, the AGC had decided to reclassify Amri’s case under Section 365 of the Penal Code as kidnapping.

“But, the legal officers still maintained that Amri’s case was one of a missing person,” he said.

Su also criticised the AGC for “going against its own deputy public prosecutor’s decision” in classifying Amri’s investigations as a kidnapping case and for claiming in court that it wasrelated to a missing person.

“The public wants to know how the current AG will deal with this,” he said.

‘Pick new probe team’

The court made an additional order, compelling the inspector general of police to remove Khor and other officers involved in probing Amri’s case.

“The police need to recommence the investigations and for them to report their findings to the AGC every two months,” Su said.

He also directed the AG to “look into today’s decision” and to select new IOs for the case.

“To avoid any conflict, the legal officers involved in this case should not take part (in giving instructions to police),” he said.

At a press conference after the proceedings, Norhayati expressed gratitude for the decision.

“Praise be to the Almighty for granting this victory to us after nine years of struggles with my lawyer and everyone who has stood by me,” she said.

Norhayati said, however, the decision did not abate her grief of still not knowing her husband’s whereabouts and fate.

“The feeling of sadness remains because questions about Amri’s whereabouts, whether he is alive, dead, or in good health, are all still unanswered.

“We sincerely hope that those responsible will be held accountable for what they have done,” she said.