PUTRAJAYA, July 19 — The Court of Appeal is to hear on October 23 an appeal by the police against a High Court ruling awarding a retiree RM1.43 million for wrongful detention in 1997. 

Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Md Raus Sharif had fixed the hearing date when the case came up for case management before him last Wednesday.

Justice Raus had directed for the appeal to proceed.

The retiree, Dickson Ng Sek Wah, 62, was represented by lawyer Alan Wong Teck Wei while senior federal counsel Nur Aqilah Abdullah appeared for the police and the government.

Ng, had sued eight police officers, including the Inspector-General of Police and the government in 2000, claiming that during the period of detention, he was seriously injured.

He was detained for questioning for allegedly importing a sub-machine gun from Finland without a valid firearm licence.

Ng, who was with a forwarding company then, claimed that he had only assisted another company in the import of the weapon as a sample to participate in an open tender called by the Home Ministry, on behalf of the police.

In November 2010, the Shah Alam High Court awarded him RM1.43 million.

A police application for a stay of the award is pending at the court. — Bernama