Justice Su Tiang Joo, in his full judgment, stated that the police officers involved disregarded their statutory duties under the law to safeguard public life and security, as well as to prevent and detect crime.
He highlighted that in Koh’s case, the pastor’s wife, Susanna Liew, faced obstacles in dealing with the police from the outset.
The court noted that Liew, police officer Ali Asra Abu Bakar and investigating officer Supari Muhammad testified that the questions posed to her focussed on proselytisation, which Koh was allegedly involved in, rather than questions aimed at identifying leads.
The court also noted that the presence of one Saiful Bahri Abdul Aziz’s Toyota Vios (seen at the scene of Koh’s abduction) was never pursued as a lead until it was revealed during the 2017 Suhakam inquiry.
“The court took into consideration the (police’s) conduct after the abduction – concealment of information, misdirection of inquiries, and failure to pursue obvious investigative leads.
“These omissions were not neutral. Rather, they suggest involvement of individuals who either possessed direct knowledge or had reason to protect those responsible.”
The judge also noted that a man, Lam Chang Nam, was subsequently charged with “kidnapping” Koh while the inquiry was ongoing. The charge was later withdrawn.
“Although the power to prosecute lies with the public prosecutor (attorney-general), the operational role of the police in presenting evidence cannot be overlooked.
“The timing of the charge and subsequent withdrawal suggest that it (Lam’s case) was used to achieve an ulterior objective, which was to disrupt the inquiry,” Su added.
Last month, the court ruled in favour of Liew and ordered the government and the police to pay more than RM37 million to Koh’s family over the state’s involvement in his abduction.
The court ordered RM33 million to be entered against the government for the “wrongful acts” committed against Koh.
However, the funds must be kept in a trust fund and cannot go directly to Liew and her three children.
An additional RM4 million in general and aggravated damages was also awarded to Liew.
State involvement
Su said the classified task force report reinforced the point that Koh’s disappearance was similar to that of activist Amri Che Mat.
“Both (chairman) Abd Rahim Uda and (member) Zamri Yahya testified that they considered it likely Amri and Koh’s disappearances involved the same operational unit.
“The consistency between Suhakam’s and the task force’s findings bolsters the plaintiff’s case that a Special Branch unit orchestrated or facilitated the operation,” he added.
Meanwhile, the court will hear Liew’s application to appoint trustees to manage the RM33 million judgment sum – or RM10,000 a day – since Koh’s disappearance on Dec 8.
Liew suggested appointing her solicitors to hold the judgment sum in trust or engaging either PB Trustee Services Bhd or Amanah Raya Bhd as trustees.