KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has agreed to an out-of-court settlement of RM200,000 in damages over a wrongful arrest suit brought against it by six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members, including Sungai Siput MP Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj.
Justice Hue Siew Kheng on Tuesday recorded the consent judgement, entered on the terms of the settlement read out by the plaintiffs' counsel Yudistra Darma Dorai.
"Now the suit has been settled. I thank you all parties," she said.
Earlier, Yudistra read out the settlement in the presence of all parties.
In the March 23 suit over false imprisonment and misfeasance, plaintiffs Jeyakumar, M. Sukumaran, A.P. Letchumanan, Choo Chon Kai, M. Saraswathy and R.R. Sarat Babu named 82 defendants, including the Inspector-General of Police and his deputy, the Government, the Home Ministry, the Attorney-General and a deputy public prosecutor, along with at least 60 police officers.
In their statement of claim, the six claimed their detention was unjustified and unlawful, and had been done for political reasons.
They also claimed that they were denied their legal rights while in custody, including their right to consult with a lawyer.
They sought a declaration that their rights under the Federal Constitution had been infringed upon, and claimed assessed damages, aggravated and exemplary damages, costs, and other damages and relief deemed fit by the court.
The six were detained in a bus along the North-South Expressway on June 25 last year on charges of treason against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
They were released on July 2 when their remand period expired.
However, they were rearrested under the Emergency Ordinance and freed 27 days later on July 29.
