Six Malaysians facing charges of criminal conspiracy with the intention to cheat were forced to spend the long weekend in Sungai Buloh prison after they could not post bail due to the bail counter closing earlier than usual.
According to their lawyer, Tan, the court staff closed the counter at 2:53pm despite a notice stating that office hours were until 4:30pm.
This has caused the six suspects, Liew Zhen Ying, Koh Zheng Yan, Renee Low, Foo Wei Xuan, Liew Zhen Shen and Wong Wai Hong, to spend their Hari Raya long weekend in the Sungai Buloh prison.
Whereas another four facing the same charges, Law Si Kai, Tan Jia Jing, Ching Chung Haw and Xu Shao Rong, were able to post their bail in time.
The families of the accused reportedly appealed to the counter staff to process their bail but were told that it was closed pursuant to a directive from the Kuala Lumpur court management.
All ten men had pleaded not guilty to the charges when they appeared before magistrate Wong Chai Sia, for which all of them were allowed bail at RM4,000 each, including two who had fallen sick.
Speaking to WeirdKaya, Tan expressed his disappointment at the turn of events due to the low level of bureaucracy.
Even though the Magistrate allowed the bail application, the six accused had to spend their Hari Raya in the lockup just because the court staff closed the counter before the end of the working hours and rejected the bail procedure to be processed.
“They are supposed to be out now,” he emphasised.
Tan will be writing to the chief justice and the minister in charge of legal affairs to ensure that the interest of justice is upheld.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the contributor’s own and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of WeirdKaya.
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