The High Court will decide on January 26 whether to grant a stay of execution on a RM37 million damages award to the family of missing Pastor Raymond Koh.
KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court will decide on Monday whether to grant the government’s application for a stay of execution on a damages award exceeding RM37 million to the family of Pastor Raymond Koh.
Judge Mahazan Mat Taib fixed the date today after hearing submissions from both parties.
Senior Federal Counsel Nurul Farhana Khalid, representing the government and police, argued the defendants were not refusing payment.
She said they sought a stay pending the hearing of their appeal before the Court of Appeal.
“This is not an issue where we (the government) are refusing to honour the judgment,” she said.
She emphasised the case, concerning a pastor’s disappearance and involving substantial damages, merited consideration for a stay.
The application was filed on December 17 last year without undue delay, she argued.
Datuk Jerald Gomez, representing Koh’s wife Susanna Liew Sow Yoke, opposed the application.
He argued no stay was sought for over a month following the judgment’s delivery on November 5 last year.
“The present application is nothing more than an attempt to delay and to deprive the successful parties of the enjoyment of the fruits of litigation,” he argued.
On November 5, High Court Judge Datuk Su Tiang Joo ruled in favour of Liew.
He held the police and government liable for Koh’s disappearance and ordered the payment of more than RM37 million in damages.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers filed a notice of appeal the following day.
Liew had filed the suit over her husband’s disappearance and the authorities’ handling of the investigation.
Koh was reported abducted by a group of masked men while driving in Kelana Jaya on February 13, 2017.
