The Federal Court granted a temporary stay to senior lawyer Cecil Abraham today to substitute the name of Anthony Kevin Morais in a RM48 million suit filed by lawyer Rosli Dahlan against then attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail and others for malicious prosecution.

This follows after Cecil informed the apex ,led by Chief Judge of Malaya Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, that the defence needs to make the substitution since Morais, who was formerly attached to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, has died.

“Following this, we apply for the matter to be stayed,” said Cecil, who is representing Gani ( photo ) and other defendants in the suit.

Justice Zulkefli then granted the temporary stay until Nov 26. He sat together with Federal Court judges Abdull Hamid Embong and Ahmad Ma'arop.

Rosli's lawyers Chetan Jethwani and Parvinder Kaur then informed that their client expressed his deepest sympathy and condolences to the family of Morais over the tragic event.

Morais, 55, the deputy head of the Attorney-General's Chambers Appellate and Trial Division, went missing on Sept 4. Last week, his body was found in a drum filled with concrete in Subang Jaya, Selangor.

Rosli filed the suit two years ago, naming former inspector-general of police Musa Hassan and MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed in their personal capacities, along with then MACC prosecution head Abdul Razak Musa, its former prosecution head Nordin Hassan and Morais, the MACC, the police and government as among the 11 defendants.

The suit is part what is known as the ' Copgate affair ' that saw Rosli and former Commercial Crime Investigations Department director Ramli Yusof being charged but later acquitted.

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