Tuesday July 8, 2008

Justice Chin wants police report made against Mahathir

SIBU: The war of words between High Court Justice Ian Chin and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad continues with the judge asking the Deputy Registrar of the High Court to lodge a police report against the former premier for comments made in the latter’s blog.

In a statement to the press upon the resumption of the hearing of the election petition for the Sarikei parliamentary seat at the High Court yesterday, Justice Chin said it was wrong for Dr Mahathir to suggest that he had erred in two cases he had presided over in the Kota Kinabalu court.

Both cases involved the Sabah Foundation suing its former director, Datuk Syed Kechik Syed Mohamed, over profits on a special timber licence and on the enhancement of land belonging to the foundation and its two companies.

Justice Chin said the appellate courts would not have upheld the judgment if there were implied impropriety on his part.

“And neither could my decision stand on issues which I found in favour of Datuk Syed Kechik.”

Speaking for himself, Justice Chin said he had made mistakes in his decisions before and they would occur in future as he was not infallible.

“Still, there exists the luxury for a High Court judge, which is, that he can afford to err or misdirect himself in his decision since there is the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court to take care of that.

“It is easy to arrive at a decision in cases where one can be regarded as having no interest at all,” he said.

Justice Chin claimed his detractors had spun a story that he had acted out of spite for thinking that his promotion was blocked by Dr Mahathir but that had been shown to be untrue. – Bernama.