'Khairuddin, Chang charged under Penal Code, not Sosma'
Attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali clarified today that former Umno leader Khairuddin Abu Hassan and his lawyer Matthias Chang have been charged under Section 124L of the Penal Code and not under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma).
He said this in response to the slew of criticisms that the duo's Sosma arrest is an abuse of the government's powers.
He further explained that despite many misleading statements claiming otherwise, Sosma is a procedural law that is not limited to terrorists.
"The Attorney-General's Chambers further clarifies that Sosma is a procedural law that provides special measures to facilitate investigations for the prosecution of ‘security offences’.
"The definition of ‘security offences’ makes it clear that Sosma is not limited to terrorism or terrorists," Apandi told a press conference in Putrajaya today.
He was referring to the definition of "security offences" which is listed in Sosma.
Apandi also referred to the joint statement made by several BN veterans yesterday.
The BN veterans included former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin, vice-president Shafie Apdal, former Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Junid and former MCA presidents Ong Tee Keat and Dr Ling Liong Sik.
They had condemned the arrests of Khairuddin and Chang under Sosma as well the charges brought against them.
Prevent further misleading statements
Apandi said Section 124L related to "security offences" which fall under Sosma, after the amendment to the Penal Code in 2012.
Section 124L is for any "attempt to commit sabotage" with an imprisonment term up to 15 years.
"In this regard, Section 130A of the Penal Code defines the term ‘sabotage’ to mean an act or omission intending to cause harm, among others, to the maintenance of ‘essential services’.
"The term ‘essential services’ is defined to include banking and financial services," he explained.
These clarifications, he said, are to prevent any further misleading statements on Khairuddin and Chang's arrest and charges.
However, he stressed that the Attorney-General's Chambers is not at liberty to divulge any further facts on this case as "the matters are pending before the court".
Khairuddin was initially arrested under Section 124C of the Penal Code, but was re-arrested six days later under Sosma, for lodging complaints against 1MDB overseas.
His lawyer, Chang, was then brought in for questioning by the police twice before also being arrested under Sosma, for accompanying his client to lodge those complaints.
Khairuddin and Chang were charged yesterday with attempting to sabotage the country's banking and financial services sector.
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