AG's power not absolute, says Doan's lawyer on murder charge
The attorney-general may have wide discretionary powers on how to proceed with a charge but a senior lawyer today reminded that such powers are not absolute.
Lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, counsel for Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong, 30, told Malaysiakini that attorney-general Tommy Thomas must explain his decision to reject an application to drop the charge against his client over the murder of Kim Jong-nam.
The attorney-general may have wide discretionary powers on how to proceed with a charge, but a senior lawyer today reminded that such powers are not absolute.
Lawyer Hisyam Teh Poh Teik, counsel for Vietnamese national Doan Thi Huong, 30, told Malaysiakini that attorney-general Tommy Thomas must explain his decision to reject an application to drop the charge against his client over the murder of Kim Jong-nam.
"Yes I agree that the attorney-general has wide discretionary powers, but his powers are not absolute. The AG has no absolute power.
"The limitation is, the attorney-general must exercise his discretion with fairness, and justly," said Hisyam.
He was responding to senior lawyer Shahrudin Ali who yesterday said Thomas had exercised his discretion in ordering that murder charges against Indonesian national Siti Aisyah be dropped.
"The strategic interest between the two countries has nothing to do with the law, but it is within the ambit of the attorney-general's powers," Shahrudin told Malaysiakini when contacted on Thursday.
Siti Aisyah was jointly charged with Doan (photo) and four others over the murder of Jong-nam, the elder half-brother of North Korean president Kim Jong-un. The incident took place in 2017 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2.
The High Court had ordered both accused to enter their defence last August.
According to Thomas, the charge against Siti Aisyah was dropped on request from the Indonesian government.
However, similar attempts to have the charge against Doan dropped have been unsuccessful.
Given the latest developments, Hisyam today urged the attorney-general to explain the rationale for dropping the charge against Siti Aisyah, and the decision to proceed with the hearing against Doan.
"We are interested in the AG's response with regard to the difference between the case of the Indonesian and the Vietnamese.
"Let us know the basis of your (AG's) discretion," said Hisyam.
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