Nine years on, Amri's wife still seeks answers despite legal win

Despite the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision holding the authorities liable for Amri Che Mat's disappearance, Noorhayati Ariffin said she remains heartbroken that the fate of her husband is still unknown.

“The feeling of disappointment is still there because we still don’t know where Amri is, whether he’s alive, dead, or in good health.

“And we really hope that those responsible will still be held accountable for what they have done,” she said after the Kuala Lumpur High Court delivered its verdict today.

When asked regarding the high court’s decision to reopen the case, Noorhayati (above, left) expressed that she is very grateful and hopes that the fight to uncover Amri’s abduction will continue.

Today, the court ruled that the police and the government were vicariously liable for Amri’s disappearance in 2016, and ordered them to pay RM3 million in damages to Noorhayati, along with RM250,000 in costs.

Judge Su Tiang Joo, who took nearly two hours to deliver his judgment, also ordered the police to reopen their investigation and submit progress reports to the attorney-general every two months.

“I find there was a lack of effort to keep Amri’s family updated (and) wrongful classification of Amri’s disappearance as it should have been classified as abduction instead of a missing person,” he said.

The judge added that the authorities had violated Noorhayati’s right to life, protected under Article 5(1) of the Federal Constitution, by failing to conduct an effective investigation into Amri’s disappearance.

In 2019, a Suhakam public inquiry ruled that Amri and Pastor Raymond Koh, who vanished in 2016 and 2017 respectively, were victims of enforced disappearance perpetrated by members of the Special Branch from Bukit Aman.

Koh, 62, was abducted by a group of men along Jalan SS4B/10 in Petaling Jaya while on his way to a friend's house. CCTV footage, believed to be of the incident, showed at least 15 men and three black SUVs involved in Koh's abduction.

As for Amri, a Perlis-based activist, Noorhayati had previously testified that a Special Branch officer from Perlis, Shamzaini Mohd Daud, told her on the night of May 12, 2018, that it was the division that carried out the abduction.

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