MACC officers were harsh in their treatment, lawyer tells court

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan said that the investigation was leaked to the press from the start and sensationalised, and the MACC did nothing to correct it. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, April 7, 2015.

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan, a close friend to a retired senior police officer Datuk Ramli Yusuff, told the High Court today that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers were unfair to him in the course of conducting their investigation.

"The MACC officers were under an obligation to act fairly in their investigations and treatment of suspects and witnesses. This is not done in this case."

"Right from the outset, the investigation against Ramli was leaked to the press and sensationalised," he said.

He said the MACC did nothing to correct this sensationalisation even though they must have known that the press was sourcing their information from within their ranks.

The corporate lawyer said in his case MACC officers resorted to subterfuge and misdirection by lying who they were when they issued notices to him and Ramli to disclose their assets.

He said MACC officers, in their attempt to arrest him, suggested that he go to their headquarters.

"When they found out they could not deceive me, they resorted to violence and outright intimidation. They sent five officers to barge into my office.

"They waved handcuffs in my face and tried to goad me by being aggressive," Rosli said when testifying in the RM20 million suit brought by him against MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed, his officers and the government for conspiracy to injure his reputation, assault and false imprisonment.

Rosli, who filed his action in September 2009, had also filed a defamation suit against Abu Kassim.

In his statement of claim, Rosli said that former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan’s animosity towards Ramli resulted in the defendants conspiring to destroy his reputation and integrity.

Initially, Rosli had included Utusan’s publisher Utusan (Melayu) Malaysia Bhd, the publisher of Utusan Malaysia and its two journalists in the suit, but dropped them following a consent judgment yesterday.

Although the terms remain confidential, the publisher's senior legal manager-cum-company secretary Shirad Anwar read out an apology to Rosli in open court before High Court Datuk Su Geok Yiam.

MACC officers arrested Rosli on October 11, 2007, two days before the Hari Raya Raya celebrations and the lawyer said newspapers Utusan, The Star and the New Straits Times gave an extraordinary amount of publicity.

He said he had issued a letter of demand to the newspapers and later commenced legal proceedings.

He said the The Star issued a public apology after admitting that they were wrong, while the NST was found liable for defamation and ordered to pay RM300,000 in damages.

Rosli said the articles were defamatory because he was not a permanent resident and it was untrue that he had not complied with the terms of notice that was issued to him by the MACC.

"I did in fact comply to the best of my abilities at the time. Finally, the article suggested that my asests were somehow linked to the cop (Ramli) who was under investigation. That was completely untrue," he added.

In December 2010 , Rosli was acquitted without his defence being called over a charge of failing to disclose his assets to the MACC.

The prosecution later withdrew its appeal against the lawyer in the High Court.

Ramli, represented by Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, was also acquitted in 2010 for not disclosing information on his assets and shares.

Hearing continues.

- TMI