The Federal Court in Putrajaya today granted leave to the Kamunting Detention Centre superintendent and two others to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s award of RM300,000 in damages to a former Internal Security Act (ISA) 1960 detainee for wrongful detention.

Court of Appeal president Md Raus Sharif, chairing a five-member panel, allowed the application for leave to appeal which was brought by the superintendent of the detention centre, deputy home minister and the government.

The Federal Court will determine two legal questions which were posed by the applicants.

The question of law, among others, relates to the provisions of Section 8B (1) and 8C of the ISA on whether the court had the jurisdiction to award damages for tort of false imprisonment against the home minister.

Meanwhile, the same Federal Court panel had dismissed Badrul Zaman PS Mohamad’s application for leave to appeal against the Court of Appeal’s decision which had reduced the quantum of damages awarded to him from RM3.3 million to RM300,000.

Badrul Zaman had applied for leave to appeal against the quantum of damages which he sought for higher award of damages.

Presiding on the panel with Md Raus were Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin and Federal Court judges Abdull Hamid Embong, Suriyadi Halim Omar and Ramly Ali.

Badrul Zaman was detained for three years from 1991, for alleged involvement in issuing fake permits and passports to foreign workers.

His detention order was then extended for another two years, effective Sept 14, 1993. However, Badrul Zaman did not challenge the validity of his initial two-year detention order but only challenged the extension of his detention order for another two years issued by the deputy home minister.

He was released in 1994 after the Penang High Court allowed his habeas corpus application and he subsequently, filed a civil action against the applicants in the same year.

In 2010, a High Court awarded Badrul Zaman RM3.3 million in damages after ruling that he was wrongfully detained.

Two years later, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal brought by the detention centre superintendent, deputy home minister and the government and held them liable for unlawfully detaining Badrul Zaman.

The Court of Appeal, however, reduced the quantum of damages from RM3.3 million to RM300,000.

The applicants were represented by senior federal counsel Azizan Md Arshad and Badrul Zaman, by lawyer M Manoharan.

- Bernama