KUALA LUMPUR: The wife of pastor Raymond Koh, who went missing in 2017, has applied for the law firm Messrs Jerald Gomez & Associates to be appointed as the trustee to receive more than RM31mil in damages that were awarded to the family by the High Court.
Lawyer Datuk Jerald Gomez, who represented Koh’s wife Susanna Liew, informed the matter during case management before High Court judge Justice Su Tiang Joo here on Tuesday.
The court fixed Dec 8 to hear the application.
Earlier, Senior Federal Counsel Nurul Farhana Khalid, who represented the government and the police, told the court the Attorney General’s Chambers needed more time to file their affidavit-in-reply as they only received the application on Monday.
On Nov 5, Justice Su ordered the government and the police to pay RM31mil in damages to the family of Pastor Raymond Koh over their involvement in his abduction eight years ago.
The judge allowed Koh’s wife’s lawsuit and said in his decision that one or more defendants, currently or formerly members of the police force, were carrying out an “order” involving Koh.
The court ordered the government to pay RM10,000 per day to Koh’s family from the date of his disappearance on Feb 13, 2017, until he is found.
The court also granted RM4mil in damages and RM250,000 in costs to Koh’s family.
In the application filed by Liew on Nov 28, she sought two financial institutions, PB Trustee Services Berhad and Amanah Raya Berhad, if the court did not appoint the law firm.
On Feb 11, 2020, Liew filed the civil suit against 13 defendants, including the government, over his disappearance.
Koh, who founded the NGO Harapan Komuniti, was abducted by a group of armed men along Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya on Feb 13, 2017, while on his way to a friend’s house.
CCTV footage, believed to be of the incident, showed at least 15 men in tactical gear and three black SUVs involved in the abduction, which was done in a “professional” style.
