THE Immigration Department has been asked to produce its suspects list, to determine if Pastor Raymond Koh and his wife, Susanna Liew, were questioned by authorities whenever they left the country.

Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) commissioner Mah Weng Kwai made the request today during the ongoing public inquiry into the disappearance of Raymond, who went missing last year, and three others since 2016.

Mah asked Immigration Department assistant deputy director Hamid Momong, who testified today, to check if Raymond and Liew were on the suspects list of any government agency.

Lawyers representing Raymond in the public inquiry wanted to know if the Immigration Department had stopped and recorded statements from the couple at the country’s exit points upon the authorities’ request.

Hamid said there was a chance that the couple could be blocked and questioned if the authorities requested it.

“Not all of the suspects’ statements are recorded.

“Some are recorded, but some questions are asked verbally. So, we might not have the records.”

Bar Council member Andrew Wong asked Hamid if the Immigration Department had a suspects list for those leaving the country.

He said the department did have a list of those to be questioned before exiting the country.

A lawyer for Raymond’s family, Philip Koh, asked Hamid if religious authorities had given the Immigration Department a suspects list.

He said he heard that the shariah court had done so for other cases, adding that in the case of Raymond, he was unsure.

“The suspects list is usually given by the police, Home Ministry, Immigration Department and other agencies.”

Philip then asked if the Immigration Department could furnish records related to Raymond and his wife. This was supported by Mah.

Hamid said he would check and get the list.

Last year, The Malaysian Insight reported that Raymond was stopped and questioned nine times, while Liew was stopped seven times, upon leaving the country.

Liew previously said the couple were frequently stopped by Immigration personnel and referred to the Special Branch when they wanted to travel abroad.

She said such checks started after Selangor religious authorities in 2011 raided a church where Raymond had hosted a dinner attended by Malays.

The pastor was abducted in Petaling Jaya on February 13 last year by some 15 men in three black SUVs. The abduction was caught on closed-circuit television cameras, and described as a well-coordinated operation.

Suhakam aims to determine whether Raymond, activist Amri Che Mat, who went missing near his home in Padang Behor, as well as Pastor Joshua Hilmy and his wife, Ruth Sitepu, are cases of enforced disappearance sanctioned by the state. – August 27, 2018.