A-GC to decide on appeal after High Court awards Nigerian RM675,000 over unlawful detention

KUALA LUMPUR: The Attorney-General’s Chambers (A-GC) is reviewing the High Court’s decision which awarded a Nigerian man RM675,000 in damages after finding that he was unlawfully detained for about 40 days in 2021.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar said the matter is currently being studied.

“We are studying the matter and will make a decision as soon as possible. All angles will be taken into consideration,” he told the New Straits Times.

The High Court on Friday awarded a Nigerian man RM675,000 in damages after ruling that he was unlawfully detained for about 40 days by the authorities in 2021.

Judge Jamhirah Ali allowed Simon Adavize Momoh’s civil action against the government, the Home Ministry, the Immigration Department and the Prisons Department, finding that the detention was unlawful.

The court assessed general damages at RM15,000 per day for wrongful detention, while exemplary damages were fixed at RM75,000.

The court also awarded RM40,000 in costs to the plaintiff (Momoh), together with interest at the rate of five per cent per annum from the date the writ was filed on Jan 10, 2023.

On April 23, 2021, then High Court judge Datuk Ab Karim Ab Rahman ordered Momoh’s immediate release after allowing his habeas corpus application.

Habeas Corpus is a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or to court to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.

On March 15, the same year, the 38-year-old man was arrested at a roadblock in Cheras on suspicion of drink-driving.

He pleaded guilty to the offence and was sentenced to a day’s jail and fined RM12,000 by the magistrate’s court.

The father of two served his term and paid the fine.

However, instead of being released, Momoh was taken to the Kajang prison where he was held until April 7 before being transferred to the Immigration Department’s detention centre at Semenyih.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

المصدر: New Straits Times