Ex-Uber driver seeks acquittal in two cases linked to Pastor Koh’s disappearance
Ex-Uber driver Lam Chang Nam is seeking a full acquittal over two charges linked to the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh.
He sought the acquittal via his legal challenge against the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court’s order for him to be discharged not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) of extortion and kidnapping charges linked to the missing pastor.
Ex-Uber driver Lam Chang Nam is seeking a full acquittal over two charges linked to the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh.
Lam (photo, above) sought the acquittal via his legal challenge against the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court’s order for him to be discharged not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) of extortion and kidnapping charges linked to the missing pastor.
His lawyer Aaron Mark Pius told Malaysiakini this afternoon that the revision application was filed at the Shah Alam High Court in January this year.
The legal practitioner said that the revision application had been fixed for hearing on Sept 6.
Mark said that the magistrate's court granted a DNAA to Lam over both extortion and kidnapping charges on Dec 4 last year.
On March 15, 2017, it was reported that Lam was charged at the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court with extorting RM30,000 from Koh's son.
Koh was abducted on Feb 13 that year.
It was reported on Jan 16, 2018, that Lam was also charged at the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court with kidnapping Koh.
“Our client is not happy as the charges still hang over his head.
“Even though DNAA technically means there are no ongoing charges against Lam, but this means there is still a possibility of him being open to being recharged at court, thus his name has not been cleared yet.
“It is one’s constitutional right to get one’s name cleared. There must be a judgment by the court to say one is not guilty,” Mark said.
When asked whether the revision application seeks a court order to acquit Lam of the extortion and kidnapping charges, Mark confirmed it.
The lawyer also claimed that the prosecution left the door open for Lam to be recharged as seen by the prosecution refusing to file an affidavit in relation to the revision application.
Mark claimed that during case management of the revision bid at the High Court on July 13, the prosecution informed the court that they did not file the affidavit as they have instructions to recharge Lam.
The lawyer questioned the prosecution’s alleged intent to recharge Lam because the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) public inquiry into the issue had ruled that Koh was a victim of enforced disappearance.
On April 3 last year, a three-person Suhakam panel concluded that social activist Amri Che Mat and Koh, who vanished in 2016 and 2017, respectively, were victims of enforced disappearance.
The panel also unanimously concluded that the perpetrators were members of the Special Branch from police headquarters Bukit Aman.
Mark said that despite the Suhakam finding, the government still seemed to view Lam as being allegedly behind Koh’s abduction.
“Even during Lam’s trial (for the alleged kidnapping of Koh), the victim’s family did not believe that my client did it,” he claimed, adding that the family had even filed a lawsuit over the matter.
On Feb 13, it was reported that Koh’s wife Susanna Liew is suing the police and the government to compel them to reveal the missing pastor’s whereabouts.
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