DBKL loses challenge against High Court ruling in favour of ‘Occupy Dataran’ activist

Social activist Fahmi Reza had won in a case in which DBKL and the police were ordered to compensate and pay costs for wrongfully detaining him. — File picPUTRAJAYA, Oct 1 — The Court of Appeal dismissed today the Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) challenge against a High Court ruling last year in favour of social activist Fahmi Reza who was part of a student group that had occupied the historic Dataran Merdeka in 2012 seeking higher education reforms.

A three-judge panel comprising Datuk David Wong Dak Wah, Tan Sri Idrus Harun and Datuk Zamani A. Rahim upheld the December 2014 decision made by High Court judge Datuk Hue Siew Kheng, lawyer for the activist, Syahredzan Johan told Malay Mail Online when contacted.

“The Court of Appeal today dismissed the appeal with costs of RM5,000.00,” he said.

DBKL was represented by Datuk Hazman Ahmad and Nadirah Izyan Azaddin while Syahredzan and Melissa Sasidaran acted for Fahmi.

In its filing in January, DBKL had said it was “dissatisfied” with the ruling which ordered DBKL and the police to compensate and pay costs for wrongfully detaining Fahmi.

On December 29 last year, the High Court ruled that the arrest was unlawful, and ordered both DBKL and the police to pay Fahmi compensation of RM5,000 and RM3,000 respectively.

The court also ordered them to pay exemplary damages of RM20,000 for DBKL, and RM10,000 for the police. They also had to pay costs of RM20,000 and RM10,000 respectively.

Only DBKL had appealed the High Court ruling.

“PDRM and Government of Malaysia did not appeal the HC decision and played no part in the appeal,” lawyer Syahredzan said in a text message, referring to the police by its Malay abbreviation.

Occupy Dataran staged their camp-in after some 500 tertiary education students marched through Kuala Lumpur on April 14, 2012 to demand the abolition of the National Higher Education Fund.

Fahmi was then detained by DBKL officers on April 22, 2012 when they were trying to clear the historic square of the Occupy Dataran campers.

- malaymail