PUTRAJAYA, July 29 — The Court of Appeal today upheld the High Court’s decision to stay the execution of a RM37 million damages award to the family of missing pastor Raymond Koh, as well as a RM3 million award to the family of missing activist Amri Che Mat, pending the disposal of the government’s appeals.

A three-member bench comprising Justices Datuk Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab, Datuk Dr Shahnaz Sulaiman, and Datuk Amarjeet Singh unanimously dismissed the appeals filed by Koh’s wife, Susanna Liew Sow Yoke, and Amri’s wife, Norhayati Ariffin, challenging the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s stay order.

In delivering the judgment, Justice Alwi stated that the High Court judge had correctly applied the established principles governing the grant of a stay. He added that an appellate court should only interfere with such a decision if it is shown to be plainly wrong.

“The High Court’s decision represents a rational exercise of discretion to preserve the status quo pending the final determination of all the issues in the substantive appeal,” he said.

The court also rejected the appellants’ argument that the appointment of Amanah Raya Berhad as trustee prevented the government from seeking a stay.

“The consent order was a neutral procedural step to perfect the High Court’s order by identifying the trustee, Amanah Raya Berhad. It was never intended as an absolute undertaking to waive the statutory right to seek a stay or as an admission of liability.

“A stay does not disturb the consent order but merely suspends its enforcement to ensure that the appellate process is not rendered moot,” he added.

The court further noted that the High Court’s judgment in Koh’s case required a continuing payment of RM10,000 per day, rendering immediate execution of the judgment impractical as it involved the recurring disbursement of public funds.

On the stay of the order requiring investigations into Koh’s disappearance to resume, Justice Alwi acknowledged that the High Court had not provided reasons for suspending that part of its judgment.

However, he said the dispute centred on the conditions governing how the investigations should be conducted, which formed part of the government’s substantive appeal.

“If a stay is not granted, this aspect of the appeal would be rendered nugatory. We must emphasise that, at this stage, the court is not concerned with the merits of the case but only with whether special circumstances exist.

“For these reasons, we dismiss the appeal and uphold the High Court’s decision. No order as to costs,” he ruled.

In Amri’s case, Justice Alwi said the stay similarly related only to the conditions governing the ongoing police investigation.

“We are of the view that if the stay is refused, the main appeal will be rendered nugatory. Overall, we find no reason to interfere with the learned High Court judge’s exercise of discretion.

“In granting the stay, the order will not jeopardise the plaintiff’s (Norhayati’s) efforts to seek justice but will only temporarily delay the enforcement of the judgment pending the appellate process. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal and affirm the High Court’s decision,” he said.

Koh and his wife were represented by lawyers Datuk Jerald Gomez and Steven Thiru, while Norhayati was represented by A. Surendra Ananth. The government was represented by senior federal counsel Zetty Zurina Kamaruddin and Zureen Elina Mohd Dom.

On November 5 last year, High Court Judge Datuk Su Tiang Joo held the police and the government liable for Koh’s disappearance and awarded his family RM37 million in damages, comprising RM10,000 a day from February 13, 2017, until his whereabouts are disclosed, RM1 million in general damages and RM1 million in exemplary damages. 

The court also ordered that the money be placed in a trust account managed by Amanah Raya Berhad until Koh’s fate is confirmed. 

Judge Su also held the police and government liable for Amri’s disappearance and awarded his family more than RM3 million in damages.

The government subsequently obtained a stay of execution from the High Court on Jan 8 pending the disposal of its appeal.

Koh was reported to have been abducted by a group of masked men while driving in Kelana Jaya on February 13, 2017, while Amri disappeared in Perlis on November 24, 2016, after his vehicle was intercepted by three cars carrying five men. — Bernama