THE Kuala Lumpur High Court today fixed November 24 to decide on an Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) application to strike out an originating summons (OS) against the Malaysian and United States (US) governments and three others by a North Korean businessman over his extradition to the US.

Judge Noorin Badaruddin set the date after hearing submissions by senior federal counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly and counsels Nicholas Kow and Emile Ezra Hussain representing Mun Chol-myong, 56.

Kow said his client was wrongfully extradited without compliance with the laws of this country as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

“The plaintiff submits that the OS deserves to be heard and decided on its merits, as dealing with it through a summary process will render his guaranteed rights under Articles 5 and 8 of the Federal Constitution denied.”

Should the court allow the application to strike out the OS, the plaintiff will be heavily prejudiced as his rights under the Federal Constitution will have been stripped without any avenue to remedy the injustice, he added.

Hanir argued that the legal action brought by the plaintiff has become academic after the latter was extradited to the US on March 17, and therefore seeks for the OS to be struck out.

On March 8, Mun filed the OS by naming the public prosecutor, home minister, Home Ministry, and the Malaysian and US governments as the first to fifth defendants, respectively.

He applied for a declaration that Sections 4 and 20 of the Extradition Act 1992 are unconstitutional, void, invalid and of no effect as they contradict the Federal Constitution, and the 8th and 14th Amendments of the US Constitution.

He also sought an injunction to restrain the US government from taking action through the Malaysian government, home minister and Home Ministry via an Extradition Agreement between the two countries signed on August 3, 1995.

On May 13, 2019, the prosecution applied for a warrant of temporary arrest on Mun to the magistrates’ court in Kuala Lumpur, and was allowed one on the same day.

On June 10, 2019, the US submitted an official application through diplomatic channels to the Malaysian government for Mun to be extradited, stating that the man is a fugitive criminal who is required to attend trial in the US following an arrest warrant issued against him on money-laundering conspiracy charges. – Bernama, November 15, 2021.