In dismissing the government’s appeal, a three-man bench chaired by Umi Kalthum Abdul Majid said the High Court judge had been correct in quashing the decision of a disciplinary board and reinstating Chief Inspector Selamat Rasumin.
Umi said the charges were defective as the board had relied on Section 112 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) to dismiss Selamat.
The provision is only used by police in criminal investigations to record the statement of a witness or suspect.
Umi, who sat with Zaleha Yusof and Yaacob Md Sam, also told government lawyer Shamsul Bolhassan to advise the police to stop using the CPC in disciplinary cases.
Selamat, who was head of the narcotics division in the Pontian district police, was issued a show-cause notice on six charges of misconduct while on duty between 2009 and 2010.
In 2010, the police recorded a statement from Selamat which was later relied on by the board to remove him from the force.
On April 15, 2015, he received a letter from the inspector-general of police (IGP) informing him that he had been found guilty by the board on the first three charges and was dismissed from the force effective March 26, 2015.
He was given a warning for the remaining three charges.
Selamat, who was represented by G Subramaniam Nair and Ebrina Zubir, subsequently filed a judicial review to quash the board’s decision and sought a declaration that he was still an officer in the force.
He named then-IGP Khalid Abu Bakar, the Bukit Aman disciplinary board and the government as respondents.
Last year, justice Hanipah Farikullah allowed Selamat’s judicial review as the board’s director had used the special powers of an investigating officer under Section 112 of the CPC to collect evidence.
Hanipah said the statement recorded by the board’s officer was also inadmissible.
As such, she said, the first three charges were defective.
Selamat, 53, joined the force in 1988. If he succeeds in his bid, he is expected to get at least RM200,000 in backdated salary and allowances.
However, the government has one more round of appeal in the Federal Court.