KUALA LUMPUR, 22 July 2009: Kajang Municipal Councillor Tan Boon Wah today sued the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and two others for allegedly detaining and interrogating him in an unlawful manner last week.
Tan, 39, filed his writ of summons through Messrs Karpal Singh & Co at the registration office of the High Court Appellate and Special Powers Division here at 12:30 pm.
In his writ of summons, Tan, as the plaintiff, named MACC Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan, Assistant Superintendent Mohammad Hassan Zulkifli, and the MACC as the three defendants.
In his supporting affidavit, the plaintiff claimed that on 15 July, he was taken out of his house by officers of the third defendant to the MACC headquarters in Shah Alam for interrogation at 8:30 pm.
“I was only released at 1:35 pm on the following day, 16 July. This was after I was given an order for interrogation as a witness on 20 July at 10am,” said the plaintiff in his affidavit.
“I had been detained unlawfully by the MACC officers. I had stated that I could not, from the legal aspect, be interrogated after government office hours, that is, from 8:30am until 5pm daily, as provided under Section 30(1)(a) of the MACC Act,” the plaintiff said.
Subsequently, the plaintiff claimed the move was an unlawful detention, which resulted in him suffering losses and damages.
Through the writ of summons, the plaintiff demanded a court declaration that the defendants, who were investigating under Section 30(1)(a) of the MACC Act 2009, could only record statements from the plaintiff as a witness during office hours only, that is from 8:30am until 5:30pm.
The plaintiff also demanded a declaration order that all the defendants had acted against the provision of Section 30 (3)(a) of the Act, damages for unlawful detention, costs and other reliefs from the court.
Tan is one of several people who were called up by the MACC to give statements in investigations on alleged misappropriation of the Selangor state allocation.
A political aide to one of the Selangor state executive councillors, Teoh Beng Hock, who was called up for interrogation by the MACC at its headquarters on the 14th floor of Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam, was found dead on the fifth floor of the building on 16 July. — Bernama
Nicholas Aw says
Good for you Tan Boon Wah. The MACC should be taught a lesson. I don’t deny that there are some very dedicated officers but generally the MACC is a big bully legally sanctioned by the BN government.
They investigate selectively […] and they act as if they are God. They allow people like Lingam, Khir Toyo and Zakaria Darus to walk about freely; the latter in the next world, and yet go all out to investigate Teoh Beng Hock, Tan Boon Wah and other opposition politicians.
Gopal Raj Kumar says
This gets even better. Now this chap is suing, seeking relief for losses and damages. Why can’t his lawyers or the reporter who wrote the story produce specifics. Damages in what respect and losses [in] what capacity?
There is no description of the basis […] [for which his] detention [is] rendered […] illegal. What information can be obtained out of this illegality is not necessarily inadmissible. If there was a need for him to be detained then it may have been in the public interest that he [was] detained […].