A SENIOR police officer will take the stand at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) public inquiry into missing Pastor Raymond Koh, which resumes today.

Federal police CID deputy director commissioner Huzir Mohamed was summoned to testify after his name was mentioned by Selangor CID chief Fadzil Ahmat in his testimony last year. 

Huzir was identified as Bukit Aman’s point person who was coordinating the police’s joint investigations into the disappearances of Koh and three activists.

During Monday’s proceedings, the inquiry panel had instructed lawyers and police observers to seek to have documents on Koh under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) declassified so as to determine if he was blacklisted by the Immigration Department prior to his disappearance.

Suhakam commissioner Mah Weng Kwai made the request when Immigration Department assistant deputy director Hamid Momong said that he could not reveal contents of the blacklist because it was classified information.

The pastor was abducted in Petaling Jaya on February 13 last year by about 15 men in three black SUVs.

The abduction was caught on closed-circuit television cameras and has been described as a well-coordinated operation.

The Suhakam inquiry wants to determine whether the disappearances of Koh, Perlis Hope founder Amri Che Mat, as well as pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife, Ruth Sitepu, are cases of enforced disappearance sanctioned by the state. 

The Malaysian Insight brings you live updates of today’s proceedings:

4.50pm: Gomez asks Huzir about the items seized from the Pengkalan Hulu house, saying police found pictures of Koh. 

Huzir says after hearing that there was also a bomb in the house, he left for the house on the same day.

Gomez asks Huzir how he knew that the pictures were of Koh.

Huzir says his officer, Hazril, informed him that pictures of Koh were found.

Gomez then asks Huzir how he knew that it was indeed Koh in the pictures.

Huzir says Koh was “all over” social media, and that was how his officers knew about Koh.

Gomez tells Huzir that former IGP Khalid Abu Bakar had said two teams had gone to the house, one on the day of the shooting and the other a few days later.

Huzir says the Special Task Force on Organise Crime went first, and he then called Fadzil from Selangor to go and confirm if pictures of Koh were found.

The inquiry ends. It will resume on October 10.

4.40pm: Gomez asks Huzir about the items that were confiscated at the dead suspect’s house in Pengkalan Hulu.

Huzir says all the items seized have been recorded by the police.

He adds that the wife of the deceased was present during the raid.

Mah then asks to see the report and search list.

Huzir says he will produce it.

4.30pm: Mah tells Huzir that they have been looking for a few people to testify at the inquiry but they cannot be located.

He asks Huzir why, even with the police’s resources, is it so difficult to find them.

Huzir says all the names mentioned by Mah was new to him.

Mah then asks if Huzir can try and locate Saiful Hafizan, who is an eye witness for Amri’s case.

Huzir says he will try to look for Saiful.

Mah then asks police observers if they had located Saiful, to which they reply “no”.

4.20pm: Gomez asks Huzir if Saiful is a crucial witness in the Suhakam inquiry, Huzir replies in the affirmative.

Mah then asks Huzir if there were any suppression of evidence in Koh’s or Amri’s cases.

Huzir denies it.

4pm: Gomez says Amri’s wife Norhayati had said that the Gold Vios was also spotted near her home a few days before the activist went missing.

He says that Norhayati was told by SB officer Shamzaini that the car was involved.

Gomez then says that Khor was recalled to testify, and when asked if he was in the system the officer said yes.

The lawyer says Khor had told the panel that Saiful worked in Pulapol but had left in March this year.

Gomez then says that Khor had tried to trace Saiful but could not find him.

3.25pm: Gomez asks Huzir about the Gold Vios that was allegedly involved in Amri’s abduction.

He says they had asked Khor about the name and whereabouts of the vehicle’s owner but the officer had refused to answer.

Gomez says Khor told the inquiry that the vehicle’s details are under OSA and the Gold Vios has no connection with the case.

He says that an eye witness has put the vehicle at the abduction location, but questions why the police are suppressing the information.

Huzir says he will check with the force’s legal department as he does not know why Khor said the information is classified under the OSA.

3pm: Gomez asks Huzir if the case has to be serious before Bukit Aman will take over.

Huzir says yes.

Gomez then asks Huzir if Amri’s was classified to be serious and if that was why the case was taken over by Bukit Aman, to which Huzir says yes.

2.45pm: Gomez asks Huzir under what circumstances can Bukit Aman take over cases or investigations.

Huzir says Bukit Aman doesn’t take over cases often, and that Ah Long’s report that Koh was proselytising was first investigated by Perlis police before it was taken over by Bukit Aman.

Gomez asks if it’s normal for Bukit Aman to take over cases.

Huzir says, in Amri’s case, Inspector Khor was asked to hand over the case to Bukit Aman.

12.30pm: Gomez asks Huzir if he was aware of the missing persons cases of Koh, Amri Che Mat, and couple Joshua and Ruth Hilmy.

Huzir says he first heard about Koh case last year, before learning of the other two.

Gomez says Supari and Fadzil had testified that there were joint investigations headed by Huzir.

Huzir says no.

Huzir says he had only had one meeting with the investigating officers of the three cases for  coordination purposes before the Suhakam inquiry started last year. 

He says the legal department had initiated the coordination for the inquiry. 

Gomez asks if Huzir was briefed on three cases.

Huzir says he was only briefed on Koh’s case.

The inquiry breaks for lunch.

12.20pm: Mah asks Huzir if it is strange that Koh was abducted in Petaling Jaya but his pictures were found in Pengkalan Hulu.

Huzir says sometimes people get kidnapped in Sabah and taken to the Philippines, or in Johor and then taken to Batam, Indonesia. 

He says the abduction could have happened in Petaling Jaya and the victim brought to Thailand. 

Suhakam officers ask if Koh’s case is still under investigation. 

Huzir says yes but he has not seen any updates to the case.

12.05pm: Mah asks Huzri how did three pictures of Koh end up in the house of the suspect that was shot dead.

He asks Huzir if there was any evidence to show how the pictures were found in the suspect’s home. 

Nuzir says nobody can answer the question. 

He also said police questioned the deceased’s wife but did not get any information. 

Mah asks if any of the suspects have been charged. 

Nuzir says no. 

11.45am: Huzir says his team had shot a suspect in Baling, Kedah last year.

He says they had checked the suspect’s house in Pengkalan Hulu, Perak and found drugs, live bullets, a homemade bomb, flags and pictures of Koh’s vehicle and house.

Huzir says that they had also arrested four suspects in the Baling case and they were bought to IPD Petaling Jaya.

Suhakam officers ask him what had happened to the suspects.

Huzir says they were all later released on police bail as they were not connected to Koh’s case.

He, however, says that the suspects were connected to the person who was shot dead.

11.30am: Suhakam calls federal police CID deputy director commissioner Huzir Mohamed to the stand.

Suhakam officers ask him when did he know about Koh’s disappearance.

Huzir says he found out about the disappearance from daily reports.

The officer says he had a meeting with SAC Fadzil about the case on February 22, 2017 and was told that investigations were ongoing.

Mah asks who gave him updates on the case and Nuzir says it was Supari.

11.15am: Gomez tells the panel that they have evidence that Jonathan had meet a technical officer when he went to lodge a report on February 14.

Gomez says, according to Jonathan, a technical officer had sent him a WhatsApp message that there are CCTV recordings.

He say it is crucial to find out the identity of the officer to assist in the case.

Mah then asks police observers to find out who was the officer who sent the message to Jonathan.

Police agree to trace the officer.

11am: Steven says there is no point in questioning Nazeri further as going by the evidence presented so far, Nazeri’s role in the case appears to be limited to providing information (from source).

Police observers ask Nazeri how he obtained the information on Koh’s last location and whether it was from the police or other sources.

Nazeri says he got help from a source whose identity he cannot reveal.

He says the identity of the source is classified under the Official Secrets Act.

Police observers ask Nazeri if the source is a member of the public.

Nazeri says yes. 

10.20am: Koh family lawyer Jerald Gomez tells Nazeri that he has been summoned to the inquiry under Section 14 of the Suhakam Act.

He says that the Act can summon anyone around the country to give their testimony, and asks Nazeri if he cannot reveal his source due to the Official Secrets Act.

Nazeri says revealing the source will affect police duties.

Steven then says calling Nazeri was an utter waste of time.

He says that Nazeri name was given as the technical officer but it looks like the information was coming from someone else.

Mah then says the inquiry will call Supari and ask him to bring the source.

The inquiry takes a break.

10.15am: Steven asks Nazeri what equipment is he using and how is he getting the information.

Nazeri says he is getting the information from a source.

Steven then asks him who is the source.

Mah then interjects and asks if the source is from the police or the public.

Nazeri says he cannot answer the question.

Mah then asks Nazeri why the secrecy.

Nazeri then apologises and says he does not want to answer the question.

10am: Lawyer for the Koh family, Steven Thiru asks Nazeri whether his job in the technical department included checking on CCTV recordings. 

Nazeri says yes.

Steven asks Nazeri if he was involved in investigations into Koh.

Nazeri says no and that he only assisted in the technical side of things. 

Steven asks Nazeri if he had made a report of his trace of Koh’s phone.

Nazeri says no report was made. He says he had verbally informed Supari of the results of the trace.

9.45am: Nazeri tells the panel that on February 14 last year, Supari had asked him to trace a telephone number.  

He says Supari had asked him to get the location of a telephone number (Koh’s handphone number). 

Nazeri says he traced the number to its last location in Jalan SS/25 in Taman Mayang. 

Suhakam officers ask him for more details about the trace.

Nazeri says he only performed the trace once.

Suhakam officers ask him if the location is precise.

Nazeri says based on his experience, the location is accurate to within a 3km to 4km radius. 

9.25am: The Suhakam inquiry resumes with Kelantan ASP CID chief Nazeri Muhamad taking the stand.

He was with IPK Selangor in the technical department from 2014 to 2017.

Suhakam officers ask him to explain his job scope.

Nazeri says he handles all technical cases and specifically communications.

Suhakam officers ask if he had heard about Koh before his disappearance.

Nazeri says he had not, and had only heard about it from the investigating officer ASP Supari. – September 7, 2018.