THE six men who had to spend their Raya weekend in Sungai Buloh prison for failing to post bail, allegedly because the counters at the Kuala Lumpur court complex had closed early, were finally released today after their bail process was completed, the lawyer for one of the men told the Free Malaysia Today.

The lawyer, Alvin Tan, had earlier claimed the bail counters closed at 2.53pm on Thursday despite a notice apparently stating that office hours were until 4.30pm.

Tan, confirming his client’s release with the news portal, said the men’s bailors were asked to go to the bail counter at the Kuala Lumpur court complex at 10am today. He said the process was completed at around noon.

The six, Liew Zhen Ying, Koh Zheng Yan, Renee Low, Foo Wei Xuan, Liew Zhen Shen and Wong Wai Hong, were among 10 men who were charged last Thursday with criminal conspiracy with the intention to cheat.

They reportedly could not post bail claiming the counter was closed early. The other four managed to post bail earlier.

The Federal Court’s Office of the Chief Registrar yesterday rebutted the early closure allegation.

In a statement, the office said the bailors for the six men were not in court to post bail in accordance with procedure and not because the office had closed early.

It said the presence of a bailor is part of the standard procedure and must be followed for the court to affirm their identities and verbally convey the terms and responsibility throughout the bail period.

“In this case the bailors for six of the accused did not present themselves until the counter closed at 4pm, therefore their bail process could not be completed,” the office said in a statement. – April 24, 2023.