Cops ordered to pay lawyers for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment

Landmark decision: (From left) Ravinder, his counsel Chetan, Puspawati (face hidden) Murnie, their lead counsel Sivarasa, Fadiah and their co-counsel Farida Mohd, Sasya Lyna Abd Latif and Farhana Abd Halim smiling at the KL High Court.

KUALA LUMPUR: Five lawyers won RM75,000 each in damages over two suits against the police and Govern­ment for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment.

In a landmark judgment, High Court judge Justice John Louis O’Hara ruled that their arrests were unlawful and amounted to false imprisonment. He held that the plaintiffs, who were KL Legal Aid Centre (LAC) lawyers, were denied their constitutional right to have access to legal representation.