'My husband is not a terrorist' cries wife of PKR man charged for LTTE-linked items

UPDATED 4.54PM | M Tamilmalar was inconsolable after her husband was denied bail and charged with possessing items related to defunct terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) this morning.

Speaking to the media at the Selayang Sessions Court, Tamilmalar (above) rued how A Kalaimughilan would continue to remain in police custody until Dec 16 when the case will next be mentioned before the judge.

Kalaimughilan (below) had been detained without trial for the past 19 days under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

Under Sosma, bail is not allowed for detainees when charged, except in very limited circumstances.

Tamilmalar defended her husband, a PKR Kepong member, as innocent. She also urged party leaders to speak up for him.

“They have used Sosma (on him) and made my husband look like a terrorist when he has not done anything.

“He was previously an (active) PKR member... and he organised many events for PKR.

“But now (PKR president) Anwar (Ibrahim) and the others are not speaking up for my husband,” she said while holding back tears.

“Please support my husband! My husband is not a terrorist! Please support my family!” Tamilmalar cried.

With her husband now in the Sungai Buloh Prison, she said she had to work, while also caring for her father-in-law, who has special needs. Finances were also a struggle.

Kalaimughilan, 28, operates his own scrap metal business.

He was charged today with two counts under Section 130JB (1)(a) of the Penal Code, which concerns “possession, etc, of items associated with terrorist groups or terrorist acts”.

The offence carries a maximum of seven years in jail or a fine. It also requires offenders to forfeit related items.

Last year, Kalaimughilan was convicted and fined for assaulting the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Malaysia at KLIA back in 2016.

The assault was allegedly in protest of former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa who presided over the 2009 military assault that ultimately defeated the LTTE. 

Appealing bail rejection

In court today, Kalaimughilan’s lawyer V Yoges (below) applied for bail for him before judge Maziah Joary Mohd Tajudin, but was unsuccessful.

The MIC legal bureau volunteer also applied for the case to be transferred to the High Court, but was this too was rejected.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Rohaiza Abd Rahman argued that case transfers could only be considered if there was a consent form from the prosecution. Since the prosecution was still waiting on “several reports”, Rohaiza said she was unable to give consent for the request.

In response, Yoges chided the prosecution for charging her client despite the incomplete reports, calling the investigation “half-cooked”.

Addressing the media afterwards, Yoges said she will consider filing a revision of the rejection of bail.

This was especially since the maximum sentence for the offence was not severe when compared to other offences. Furthermore, she argued that Kalaimughilan was neither a flight risk nor would he be able to tamper with any evidence, as the police had confiscated all items in question.

Yoges said her client had never committed any act of terrorism despite being found in possession of LTTE-related items, which she suspected were “videos” from 2014.

“By right, bail should be considered and given... nothing was actually done with those videos.

“I understand it is Sosma (and) national security, but the court should look into how far they (the videos) are threatening to the security of the nation.

“What (has) he done with those videos? What is the impact of those videos?” she queried.

Kalaimughilan’s Oct 10 arrest was part of a large dragnet on LTTE which saw a total of 12 arrests, including that of DAP assemblypersons P Gunasekaran (Seremban Jaya) and G Saminathan (Gadek).

Both lawmakers and Kalaimughilan were among the 10 who were charged today.

PKR member, activist start petition seeking repeal of Sosma

Give police space to conduct probe into LTTE-linked suspects, says Anwar

Time to ban DAP, says PAS deputy president

How much longer can I lie to my kids, rues detained exco's wife