Pastor Koh's family claims given 'altered' report over disappearance

A copy of the special taskforce report on Pastor Raymond Koh’s enforced disappearance seven years ago that was given to his family had been “tampered” with and “altered”, claimed their lawyer.

The family’s lead counsel, Jerald Gomez, told the Kuala Lumpur High Court that the government handed over the altered report to the family on Sept 13.

The government had promised to give them a copy of the report, which was classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972, so the family could strengthen their lawsuit over his disappearance on Feb 13, 2017.

Gomez told judge Su Tiang Joo that the altered report copy contravenes the court’s order for the government to hand over the secret document.

The lawyer said the report was unclear, could not be read, and pictures had been distorted.

“This jeopardised our ability to conduct our case,” Gomez said, adding that they are contemplating a contempt application against the government.

‘Ink issues’

Senior federal counsel Nurul Farhana Khalid denied that the copy given to Koh’s family had been tampered with, saying the distortions in the document could have been due to ink issues.

“The Home Ministry informed that they will hand over three clean copies tomorrow,” the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) representative said.

Su adjourned proceedings to tomorrow to allow the government to hand over the clean report copies to the family’s legal team.

In 2019, Suhakam concluded that Koh’s abduction was an enforced disappearance perpetrated by Bukit Aman’s Special Branch.

His wife Susanna Liew, 67, subsequently launched the ongoing civil action for the disclosure of the 68-year-old’s whereabouts.

Taskforce report

In the course of the suit, the special taskforce was set up to compile the report.

However, the authorities classified it under the OSA despite calls by human rights groups to make its contents public.

Previously, the AGC objected to the report’s disclosure on the grounds that it had been classified under the OSA.

The AGC also contended that the taskforce’s findings were not binding on the civil suit.

The taskforce was established under the Home Ministry in 2020 and the report’s declassification requires the signature of its minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

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