PERLIS PKR chairman Faisol Abdul Rahman contacted police 10 times regarding the disappearance of Amri Che Mat but was given the runaround by officers, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) inquiry into the missing activist heard today.

Faisol, who is the third witness to testify in the inquiry, said after Amri disappeared in 2016, he had contacted police, but did not get much information.

“After the incident, we contacted Inspector Khor, who was in charge of the case.

“I called, (we) met at the station and (I) had coffee with them. But, they still did not have much information.

“Since then, I have contacted police about 10 times regarding the case,” he said at the Suhakam office.

Amri family lawyers asked Faisol what had transpired before he went to Bukit Aman in March last year.

Faisol said he had received a WhatsApp message from his friend, Anwar, saying the case had been transferred from Perlis to Bukit Aman.

“Anwar took a screen shot of the conversation between him and Inspector Khor.

“Anwar had asked about Amri’s status, and Khor replied that he was asked to stop the investigation and hand it over to Bukit Aman.”

Faisol told the inquiry that he and Amri’s wife, Norhayati Ariffin, then went to Bukit Aman to check on the status of the case.

“We were told that they did not receive any file on Amri’s disappearance.”

The Suhakam panel then asked Faisol if he had given Bukit Aman the contact number of Inspector Khor.

Faisol said he gave Inspector Khor’s number to an officer named “Pedro”.

“The officer then went away and started talking. We couldn’t hear the conversation.

“Until today, there has been no response from Bukit Aman.”

Amri was abducted 550m from his home in Padang Behor, Kangar. Police later found his car in Bukit Chabang.

The 43-year-old had told his eldest daughter that he was going out the night he disappeared.

In her police report, Norhayati said there had been unknown cars and motorcycles parked near the family’s home on the day her husband went missing.

Suhakam commissioners Mah Weng Kwai, Aishah Bidin and Dr Nik Salida Suhaila Nik Saleh are sitting on the inquiry panel, which aims to determine whether the abductions of Pastor Raymond Koh and Amri, as well as the disappearance of Joshua and Ruth Hilmy in 2016, are cases of enforced disappearance sanctioned by the state. – January 25, 2018.