KUALA LUMPUR - The High Court here today granted the government's application for a stay of execution on the damages award exceeding RM37 million to the family of Pastor Raymond Koh.
Judge Mahazan Mat Taib, ruling in favour of the government, held that special circumstances warranted the stay pending the disposal of the government’s appeal at the Court of Appeal.
"On the balance of justice, I am satisfied that no material prejudice has been demonstrated on the part of the plaintiffs if a stay is granted,” she said.
The judge further noted that the disbursement of such funds, even if approved, would not align with the financial rules and procedures governing public funds.
She explained that government disbursements involve multiple layers of accounting and audit oversight, which cannot be processed in the same manner as private transactions.
As such, the court recognised, as a matter of practicality, that payments of this nature are extraordinary and administratively complex.
These considerations, she said, justified maintaining the status quo in assessing the balance of justice pending the outcome of the appeal.
On Nov 5 last year, High Court Judge Datuk Su Tiang Joo ruled in favour of Koh and his wife Susanna Liew Sow Yoke, holding the police and the government liable for Koh’s disappearance and ordering the payment of more than RM37million in damages.
This judgment was immediately contested when the Attorney General’s Chambers filed a notice of appeal the following day.
Liew had filed the suit against the police and the government concerning her husband’s disappearance and the authorities’ handling of the investigation.
Koh was reported to have been abducted by a group of masked men while driving in Kelana Jaya on Feb 13, 2017. - BERNAMA