Senior federal counsel Nurul Farhana Khalid, representing the government and the police, told the High Court here today that the application was made on grounds that the judgment involved a large sum of public funds.

She also said coordination among several government agencies would be needed to channel the funds into a trust account.

“This stay will not prejudice the plaintiffs (Koh’s family),” Farhana said.

She insisted there had been no delay in filing the stay application, as it was submitted after the government obtained all necessary court documents.

“This is not an issue where we (the government) refuse to honour the judgment,” she added.

Lawyer Jerald Gomez, representing the family, objected to the stay application, describing it as an attempt to deny the family the fruits of their litigation.

“The application to stay the judgment should have been made immediately after the High Court delivered its decision on Nov 5,” he said, adding that an appeal was filed within 24 hours.

Justice Mahazan Mat Taib fixed Jan 26 for a decision.

Last year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that one or more of the defendants, comprising current and former police officers, were involved in Koh’s abduction and had acted under orders nine years ago.

Justice Su Tiang Joo ordered a sum of RM33 million to be entered against the government over the “wrongful acts” committed against Koh. However, the funds have to be kept in a trust fund and cannot go directly to Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew, and her three children, until the pastor’s whereabouts are ascertained.

Su also ordered the award of RM4 million in general and aggravated damages to Liew, along with RM250,000 in costs.