Cops who allegedly abducted Amri also involved in Pastor Koh’s disappearance, court told

Perlis Hope co-founder Amri Che Mat went missing in 2016, and Pastor Raymond Koh has been missing since 2017.

KUALA LUMPUR: The co-founder of the NGO Perlis Hope said he was told by Amri Che Mat’s wife the activist was “abducted” by officers from Bukit Aman in an operation similar to that of a missing pastor.

Faisol Abd Rahman told the High Court that Amri’s wife, Norhayati Ariffin, said she was informed of her husband’s alleged abduction by a man believed to be a police informant.

According to Faisol, Norhayati claimed that the man, identified as Shamzaini Daud, had spoken to her in 2018 about Amri’s disappearance. Amri went missing in 2016.

Faisol testified that Shamzaini had allegedly said Bukit Aman officers abducted Amri and that the same group of officers were involved in Pastor Raymond Koh’s disappearance.

He said he then enquired about Shamzaini from a friend who was a policewoman.

“She told me that Shamzaini was attached to the state’s Special Branch,” he said, adding that he subsequently obtained Shamzaini’s phone number from his contacts.

Faisol said he sent a WhatsApp message to Shamzaini some time in May 2018, reminding him of a hadith verse about speaking the truth.

“I texted him on the hadith which said, ‘Speak the truth even when it is bitter’,” he said, when testifying in the lawsuit by Amri’s family against the police and the government.

However, he did not say whether Shamzaini replied to his text.

To a question from senior federal counsel Zetty Zurina Kamaruddin on whether Shamzaini was the one who could verify the contents of his conversation with Norhayati, Faisol answered in the affirmative.

Norhayati filed a suit against the police and the government over the conduct of the authorities’ investigations into Amri’s disappearance.

Amri left his home in Kangar at about 11.30pm on Nov 24, 2016. His car was found at a construction site at the Bukit Cabang Sports School early the next morning.

Suhakam held a public inquiry into his disappearance between 2017 and 2019. It subsequently concluded that Amri was a victim of an enforced disappearance carried out by the state, specifically by the  Special Branch.

In 2018, Shamzaini denied Norhayati’s claim that the police were involved in Amri’s disappearance. He told the Suhakam inquiry he was prepared to swear by the Quran on the matter.

Meanwhile, another friend of Amri’s, Aizat Zahid, testified that Shamzaini attempted to contact him on May 13, 2018, but he did not answer the phone.

He said Norhayati also informed him that Shamzaini visited her on that day and spoke about Amri.

Lawyer Surendra Ananth, appearing for Amri’s family, informed the court that they were trying to get the special task force’s report on Amri’s disappearance.

Last week, the government abandoned its appeal to challenge another High Court decision that ordered Putrajaya to release the classified report to Norhayati.

The hearing before judicial commissioner Su Tiang Joo continues on March 20 and 21.

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