‘No stipulated time frame for hearing at Court of Appeal’

PETALING JAYA: There is no stipulated time frame for cases to be heard at the Court of Appeal, say legal experts.

Litigation lawyer Daljit Singh said his previous cases at the Court of Appeal took close to six months before reaching the hearing, following the submission of the notice of appeal.

“This, however, will differ on a case-to-case basis with some dragging on longer as parties may need more time to file court submissions when considering the number of witnesses involved in a case.

“Despite this, the case can be expedited to an earlier date depending on the complexity of the issue,” he said.

Daljit, however, stressed that justice must not be rushed, with the Court needing sufficient time to consider all aspects of a case.

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Criminal lawyer Omar Kutty Abdul Aziz concurred, saying there was no set duration until the hearing, but noted that the case could be prioritised given that the necessary documentation was ready, along with consent from both parties on a set date for the hearing.

“Despite this, both parties should be careful and make a well-structured argument when moving forward to the Court of Appeal,” he said.

He added that the duration on which the decision was handed out by the Court would depend on the complexity of the case.

“There are some cases where the decision is announced on the day itself while other more complex cases, such as white-collar crimes, will see their decisions announced at a later date,” he said.

Omar Kutty also related his previous experiences at the Court of Appeal where several cases spanned between one year at the shortest and close to two years for the longest.

He said for cases originating from the Magistrate’s Court, the final decision lay within the Court of Appeal.

Separately, the high publicity on Sam Ke Ting’s case has set social media abuzz in the past week, with many offering opinions on the issue on Facebook and Twitter.

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After news came out that Sam’s application to be granted a stay of execution and allowed bail was accepted by the court, social media was deluged with comments from many who praised the outcome.

Facebook user Lam Hsun, who was relieved with the decision, also expressed sympathy towards Sam’s ordeal since she was accused of the deaths of eight youngsters in Johor in 2017.

“Glad of this positive outcome, but this poor ‘victim’ has to go through the agony of the case after so many years, not to mention the three days of pain being locked up!” said Lam.

Another user, Tara Nisha, commented that social media pressure had actually helped influence Sam’s release on bail.

“She was granted bail because of the public outcry, imagine what would’ve happened if the people didn’t voice out,” said the user.

User Regina Lim commented that Sam must continue to remain strong as many were behind her.

“Keep fighting Ke Ting. Never bow down, don’t fear. You are not fighting for yourself, you are fighting for all of us too. God bless and protect you on your journey. We stand behind you.

“Send you virtual flowers,” said the user.

Twitter user Shanalia said: “I’m glad she’s out on bail and I truly hope she doesn’t get the sentence given to her.”

Sam’s case and the #BasikalLajak became viral last week after she was sentenced to six years for reckless driving, which resulted in the deaths of the eight.

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Many Internet users felt that Sam’s jail sentence was unfair.

Some felt that the parents of the deceased, who were aged between 13 and 16, should also be punished for being negligent of their children’s well-being.