LAW and Institutional Reform Minister Azalina Othman Said said she is dismayed by the early closure of bail counters at a Kuala Lumpur courthouse, which led to six suspects spending the long weekend in jail.

Azalina said she has instructed her ministry’s legal affairs division to investigate the matter.

“The right to bail is a fundamental and constitutional human right that the government respects without question. Any act, including administrative issues, that interferes with this right is viewed as flouting this cardinal principle.

“If the claims made by the accused’s lawyer are true, this certainly needs to be reviewed and corrected to ensure administrative errors such as this do not recur,” she was quoted saying by Free Malaysia Today.

On Thursday, six Malaysians, who are facing charges of criminal conspiracy with the intention to cheat, were reportedly forced to spend the long weekend in prison as they could not post bail after the counter was closed early.

The six – Liew Zhen Ying, Koh Zheng Yan, Renee Low, Foo Wei Xuan, Liew Zhen Shen and Wong Wai Hong – are spending the long weekend at Sungai Buloh Prison.

Another four – Law Si Kai, Tan Jia Jing, Ching Chung Haw and Xu Shao Rong, who were jointly charged with the six men – managed to post bail earlier.

Lawyer Alvin Tan, who represents the men, alleged court officials shuttered the registration counter at 2.53pm. This is despite a notice stating office hours are until 4.30pm.

Tan told the news portal the families of the accused had appealed to the counter staff to no avail.

“The counter staff said it was closed pursuant to a directive from the Kuala Lumpur court management,” Tan was quoted as saying.

He said two of the accused who were denied bail are ill.

The 10 men pleaded not guilty to the charges when they appeared before magistrate Wong Chai Sia yesterday afternoon. They were each allowed an RM4,000 bail.

Former deputy law minister Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said it is unacceptable for the bail counter to be closed earlier than usual. – April 22, 2023.