Pastor Koh's family receives 'clean' copy of abduction report

The family of pastor Raymond Koh was given a “clean”, readable copy of a classified report over his enforced disappearance seven years ago.

The family’s lawyer Jerald Gomez told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today that the Home Ministry, via the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC), gave them the report.

Yesterday, the lawyer complained that the Special Task Force (STF) report on the 2017 incident was unreadable.

In response, AGC representative Nurul Farhana Khalid said the distortions in the document could have been due to printer ink issues.

“We wish to confirm that we have received a clean copy of the STF report from the learned senior federal counsel this morning around 10am.

“Susanna Liew (Koh’s wife) also confirms having received a copy of the report.

“We wish to study the report to see what is in there,” Gomez told trial judge Su Tiang Joo.

Nurul Farhana also confirmed with the civil court that the new copy of the report was given to Koh’s family.

The court will proceed tomorrow with a full hearing of Liew’s lawsuit to compel the police and government to divulge the whereabouts of Koh, who was abducted on Feb 13, 2017.

The family sought a copy of the report, which was classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972, so they could bolster their civil action.

In 2019, an inquiry by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) concluded that Koh’s abduction was an enforced disappearance perpetrated by the police’s Special Branch.

Liew, 67, subsequently launched the ongoing civil suit for the disclosure of her 68-year-old husband’s whereabouts.

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

Official Secrets Act

However, the authorities classified the report under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) despite calls by human rights groups to make its contents public.

Previously, the AGC objected to revealing the report’s contents because it was classified under the OSA.

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

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

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