A police officer who was responsible for drafting a report which led to Saari Sungib being detained in Kamunting camp in 2001, today told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that he had relied on second-hand information for his report.  

Mohd Azhar Mohd Hanafiah, who was then the case-file officer for Saari, said he was given the then reformasi activist’s full statement, interrogation reports and other intelligence reports to draft the grounds of detention under the Internal Security Act.

 

When cross-examined by the plaintiff counsel, Razlan Hadri Zulkifli, on Saari’s statement to the police, Mohd Azhar admitted that he could not confirm the details as he was not the interrogation officer.

Asked whether he relied on the reports written by interrogation officer Ariff Ariffin, he answered “yes”.

Razlan then asked him whether Saari had committed any act deemed detrimental to the public order.

Razlan: The police had in the early days of his arrest stated in the Article 5(3) form (ground of arrest) that he had committed such act. If that is the case, you could have sent him straight to Kamunting, why do you still remand him for 50 days?

Mohd Azhar: This you must ask the particular officer who signed it.

The senior police official had subsequently submitted his draft report, which outlines five grounds of further detention, to the police assessment committee.

Mohd Azhar’s draft was later endorsed by the Home Ministry, effectively marking the beginning of Saari’s two-year detention in Kamunting, Perak.

Nine other police officers to testify

Another plaintiff counsel, Ho Kok Yew, asked Mohd Azhar whether he had witnessed the incident that was stated as one of the grounds of detention, which was giving speech to incite the people to go against the government.

He said he did not, and this was the case with the other four grounds of detention.

However, during the re-examination by senior federal counsel Azizan Ashak, Mohd Azhar said he was well-versed of the case in his capacity as a case-file officer.

Mohd Azhar added that his duty was completed the moment he finished the draft report.

NONE Saari, who is now PAS' Hulu Klang assemblyman, was one of the five former ISA detainees who are seeking the court’s declaration that sections 8 and 73 of the ISA, which allow for detention without trial, as unconstitutional.

The five are also suing the then-inspector-general of police Norian Mai for defamation by implying them as armed militants in a plot to overthrow the government.

The court conducted a hearing today, on a Saturday, as Mohd Azhar is due to leave for the Philippines on Monday.

He was the first case-file official to testify before High Court judge Lau Bee Lan.

Another nine police officers are expected to testify when the hearing resumes on Monday.