The six accused who were forced to spend the long Hari Raya Aidilfitri weekend in jail after failing to obtain bail allegedly due to the closure of the bail counter in the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex have been released today.
Lawyer Alvin Tan, who represented the six accused, confirmed the matter to Free Malaysia Today and added that their bailors were asked to go to the bail counter at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex at 10am today.
“Their lawyers and the bailors arrived at the court at about 9.30am. The court officers were already there and preparing the bail applications for the six accused.
“With the assistance of the court’s officers, the bailors successfully completed the bail procedure at about noon. The six were finally released on bail,” Tan was quoted as saying.
Yesterday, The Office of the Chief Registrar Federal Court of Malaysia refuted allegations that the early closure of a bail counter at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex had forced the six accused to spend the long Hari Raya Aidilfitri weekend in jail.
In a statement, the chief registrar’s office clarified that the allegations involved 10 accused and all were granted bail by the court.
However, the chief registrar’s office said that the six men had been denied bail because their bailors did not show up, and not because of an early closing.
It was reported that the six, who had claimed trial for alleged criminal conspiracy with the intention to cheat, would spend the long weekend in jail, with Tan claiming the bail counter had closed earlier than usual.
Tan had said the court staff closed the registration counter at 2.53pm despite a notice apparently stating that office hours were until 4.30pm.
He also expressed gratitude and appreciation to the court officers who came in today despite it being a public holiday to facilitate the bail.
He also thanked Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, the judiciary and Kuala Lumpur Bar criminal law committee for their prompt attention.
“We trust that this matter can now be put to rest but, at the same time, we hope that a proper investigation and queries can be done to ensure that events such as this will not occur anymore,” Tan was quoted as saying.
Source : Malaymail
