Apex Court Dismisses Ex-Soldier’s Appeal Over Rm300,000 Wrongful Detention Award

PUTRAJAYA, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- A former soldier today lost his appeal at the Federal Court here to reinstate a High Court decision that had awarded him RM300,000 in damages for wrongful detention spanning 311 days pending court-martial proceedings, 11 years ago.

A three-member bench led by Chief Justice Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Farid Wan Salleh, sitting with Federal Court judges Datuk Nordin Hassan and Datuk Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera dismissed Muhammad Maliki Abdul Halim’s appeal without costs.

The ruling upholds a Court of Appeal decision which had set aside the earlier High Court judgment awarding damages to Muhammad Maliki.

Delivering the court’s decision, Justice Nordin said the law empowered the authority to place Muhammad Maliki under detention pending the trial before the court-martial under Section 96 (3) of the Armed Forces Act (AFA) and during his (Muhammad Maliki’s) trial before the court-martial under Rule 16 (1) of the Armed Forces (Court Martial) Rules of Procedure 1976 (AFRP).

“We find there is no breach of Article 5 (1) of the Federal Constitution (on deprivation of life or personal liberty) as the appellant (Muhammad Maliki) was detained during the said period in accordance with the law,” he said.

Justice Nordin said both AFA and AFRP, which were special legislations enacted to govern the military and its personnel, were valid laws passed by Parliament.

 “The word “shall” in Section 96 (3) of the AFA denotes a mandatory requirement especially when the AFA concerns, among others, the discipline of army personnel that requires strict compliance with the law,” he said.

Justice Nordin also said Muhammad Maliki’s case involved the consumption of dangerous drugs which was a serious offence by army personnel who infringed the standing order under Section 51 of the AFA.

Muhammad Maliki, who was formerly a serviceman in the 5th Battalion Royal Ranger Regiment at its Desa Pahlawan camp in Kota Bahru, Kelantan, had tested positive for drugs during a drug prevention operation conducted in March 2014.

He was brought before the commanding officer for investigation on a charge for contravening a standing order under Section 51 of the Armed Forces Act, and placed under close arrest pending the completion of the investigation under the AFRP.

On Aug 26, 2014, upon the completion of the investigation, he (Muhammad Maliki) was brought before his commanding officer who informed him that he (Muhammad Maliki) was guilty of the charge.

Before recording the finding of guilt, the commanding officer informed Muhammad Maliki of his rights to elect to be tried by the court-martial to which he opted to be tried by a court-martial. He was further placed under close arrest pending the disposal of the trial before the court-martial.

On April 8, 2014, Muhammad Maliki was brought before the court-martial and the charge under Section 51 of the AFA was read to him, after which he pleaded not guilty.

On June 2, 2015, he applied to the High Court for a writ of Habeas Corpus to secure his release from detention but later withdrew the application after he was released on open arrest pending trial before the court-martial.

Muhammad Maliki subsequently filed a civil suit for wrongful detention from August 2014 until July 2015. He named the 5th Royal Ranger Regiment battalion commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel Shaifullizan Abd Aziz, the 8th Infantry Brigade, the armed forces chief and the government as respondents.

The High Court ruled that Muhammad Maliki’s detention was invalid and awarded him damages of RM300,000. However, in 2023, the Court of Appeal overturned the High Court judgment. Muhammad Maliki then obtained leave to appeal to the Federal Court in Sept last year.

In today’s proceeding, Muhammad Maliki was represented by lawyers Shaharuddin Mohamed and Low Wei Loke, while senior federal counsel Nur Ezdiani Roleb appeared for the respondents.

-- BERNAMA