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Charges against us outlandish, say Khairuddin and Chang
Published:  Oct 14, 2015 11:00 AM
Updated: 11:31 AM

Khairuddin Abu Hassan and his lawyer Matthias Chang, who were on Monday charged with trying to sabotage the country's banking sector, say the case against them is outlandish, even for a banana republic.

In a joint press statement released today, the Khairuddin and Chang, who are currently under detention, noted that they have been accused of attempting to sabotage the country's banking sector by lodging police reports in France, UK, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Singapore.

"Malaysia, under the the Najib-Rosmah regime, is the first country in the world to have made such a charge against us.

"Not even a banana republic would have the audacity to proffer such a charge against its own citizens.

"The public, as well as jurists throughout the world, may well ask what is so outlandish and ridiculous of the charge," they said.

The duo noted that the act of lodging a police report with the relevant authorities in every country in the world is a lawful act and a paramount duty of every citizen of every country.

How does doing a lawful act become ‘sabotage’?

"How can a lawyer acting for and on behalf of his client in his professional duty and how can anyone in the course of doing a lawful act (of lodging a police report) for a lawful purpose and in performance of his public duty be deemed to have committed an offence of attempting to commit sabotage?

"We leave it to everyone who reads this press statement to draw the necessary conclusion, for the stupidity and frivolous nature of this charge must be obvious to everyone," they said.

Khairuddin, accompanied by Chang as his lawyer, lodged police reports against bank accounts linked to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and 1MDB.

They were charged under Section 124L of the Penal Code for attempted sabotage, read together with the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, which allows a lengthy detention without bail.

Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali clarified yesterday that Khairuddin and Chang had been charged under Section 124L of the Penal Code and not under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma).

Apandi said Sosma is a procedural law that provides special measures to facilitate investigations for the prosecution of ‘security offences’.

Section 124L of the Penal Code on 'Attempt to commit sabotage' states: Whoever attempts to commit sabotage or does any act preparatory thereto shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to fifteen years.'

Khairuddin and Chang also appealed to members of the public for support.

"We therefore seek the support of the public to condemn these acts. The Najib-Rosmah regime must not use Sosma for their ulterior motives," they said.

An embattled Najib is facing calls for his resignation as prime minister over the discovery of RM2.6 billion in his personal bank accounts.

Najib has denied taking public funds for personal gain while his supporters claim the money was a "political donation" from the Middle East.

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