KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has granted the government’s application to stay enforcement of last year’s High Court order in a suit filed by Norhayati Ariffin, the wife of missing activist Amri Che Mat.
Judicial Commissioner (JC) Datin Zalita Zaidan made the ruling after hearing submissions from senior federal counsel Zetty Zurina Kamaruddin, who appeared for the Malaysian government and the Royal Malaysia Police, while Surendra Ananth represented Norhayati.
The JC also issued a stay order suspending the recommencement of investigations into Amri’s disappearance, stating that the court could not direct government officials to appoint or remove investigating officers in the case.
Earlier, Zetty Zurina argued that the investigation paper for the case had never been closed and that a stay of execution should therefore be granted pending disposal of the appeal, as the matter involved special circumstances.
In response, Surendra said his client had no objection to a stay of execution on the damages and costs awarded but wanted investigations into her husband’s disappearance to continue as ordered by the High Court, as it would not prejudice the government’s appeal, Bernama reported.
Nurhayati had filed the suit against the police and the government over her husband’s disappearance and the authorities’ handling of the investigation.
On Nov 5 last year, High Court Judge Datuk Su Tiang Joo ruled in favour of Nurhayati, holding the police and the government liable for Amri’s disappearance and ordering the payment of over RM3mil in damages.
Apart from the monetary awards, the judge also directed the police to reopen investigations into Amri’s disappearance and to submit progress reports to the Attorney General’s Chambers every two months.
The government filed the application for the stay on Jan 8, pending the disposal of its appeal in the Court of Appeal.
Amri was reported to have been abducted in Perlis around midnight on Nov 24, 2016, when his vehicle was surrounded by three cars and five men.
