Critics of preventive detention laws being used on VenusFX's staff should not "obstruct justice" sought by alleged victims of the company.

The Recovery Action Team (Rate), a group of people who invested in VenuxFX's foreign exchange scheme, said the immediate priority was the completion of police investigations.

Rate spokesperson N Geevaraj said his group sympathised with A Mageswarie, whose husband, a VenusFX staff, was still under detention without trial after 22 days.

However, he stressed that there are an estimated 23,000 people trying to recover their money from VenusFX.

"Many investors are ill, and in need of dialysis and cancer treatment, but they invested their savings into the scheme... now they can't even afford a lawyer," he said.

Rate vice-president H Srikumar said the police had done the right thing by applying the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (Poca), which allowed the police to detain anyone up to 60 days without trial, which period can be extended to two years.

"We hope the other party taking up the case of the Poca detainee will not interrupt the justice that has been shown to the 23,000 victims of VenusFX," he told reporters at the Kuala Lumpur High Court this afternoon.

No justification for Poca

Earlier today, the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court had allowed the police's application to extend the detention of six individuals, including Mageswarie's husband, for another 38 days under Poca in connection to VenusFX.

According to Mageswarie's lawyer P Uthayakumar, his client, who is seven-months pregnant, fainted upon hearing the magistrate's decision.

When told about Rate's opposition towards Mageswarie's suit, Uthayakumar said he sympathised with VenusFX's victims, but nothing could justify detention without trial.

"Her husband should be charged in court under regular law if there is any wrongdoing, we should let justice take its course.

"My issue is with his detention without trial," he said.