SNAPSHOT | Court stays doctor's death inquest; don't waste time, public funds appealing Zahid's case - Bersatu rep

KINI SNAPSHOT | What’s going on in the news today, with updates at 9am, 2pm, 6pm, and 9pm.

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2pm

Death inquest

• The Shah Alam High Court today ordered a stay on an inquest into the death of Dr Shintumathi Mutusamy, who died under suspicious circumstances nearly three years ago.

  This followed an application by the counsels representing the victim’s family, where they sought a review of a decision by the Shah Alam Coroner’s Court to eject lawyer Zaid Malek from court and its refusal to allow the family access to documents related to the inquest.

  In a statement issued by Zaid and his co-counsel, Mahajoth Singh, they said judge Noor Hisham Ismail found “compelling reasons to call for the revision and ordered the records to be called up for inquiry under Section 323 of the Criminal Procedure Code”.

  The High Court has fixed May 15 for the hearing of the revision application.

READ MORE: Lawyer representing deceased doctor's family thrown out of inquest hearing

• Yesterday, the Malaysian Bar criticised the coroner’s decision to eject Zaid from the inquest into Shintumathi’s (above) death and deny the victim’s family access to documents related to the case.

  In a statement, its president, Anand Raj, pointed to a practice direction issued by the chief justice in 2019, which he said gives the family the right to apply for disclosure, and such disclosure should generally be made.

  

  Anand stressed that to deny disclosure and order the removal of counsel breaches principles of natural justice and the constitutional right to counsel.

  This, he said, constitutes a miscarriage of justice that calls into question the very validity and integrity of the coroner’s inquiry itself.

Zahid DNAA

• A Bersatu Youth leader has urged the Attorney-General’s Chambers “not to waste time and public funds” by appealing the Court of Appeal’s decision linked to Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s Yayasan Akalbudi case.

  Bersatu Youth exco Na’im Brundage said the legal process in the Bar’s request for leave to proceed with a judicial review challenging Zahid’s discharge not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) for 47 graft charges should be allowed to proceed so that the truth can be established.

  In a statement today, he said Malaysia cannot allow the perception that DNAA is applied differently depending on one’s status.

  Na’im said that while ordinary citizens are punished for minor offences, top government leaders are seen as receiving different treatment in cases involving millions of ringgit.

  

  Yesterday, Zahid’s daughter Nurulhidayah argued that the Court of Appeal’s decision is not tantamount to a moral victory for the Umno president’s critics.

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