PETALING JAYA: Seven defendants, including former inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar and outgoing attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali, have been ordered to file their defence in response to a suit for unlawful detention by 1MDB critic Khairuddin Abu Hassan.
Lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said High Court deputy registrar Catherine Nicholas made the order after a case management today.
“If need be, Khairuddin could also respond to their defence. The next case management has been fixed for July 31,” Haniff said.
Federal Counsel Kamal Azira Hassan represented all the defendants.
On May 4, Khairuddin filed the suit against the government seeking damages for being unlawfully detained three years ago after lodging reports overseas about funds missing from 1MDB.
He claimed that he was maliciously prosecuted and sought RM8.83 million in damages.
He had named seven people in the suit, including Khalid, Apandi and the Malaysian government.
In 2015, police detained Khairuddin and his lawyer, Matthias Chang, for two months in 2015 under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, a law dealing with terrorist activities.
Khairuddin alleged that his detention was carried out in bad faith as investigators and prosecutors of several countries had later declared that investigations were being carried out into money laundering and corruption involving funds related to 1MDB.