Close case against Penang voluntary patrol members, DAP rep tells cops

As reported in The MalayMail

Close case against Penang voluntary patrol members, DAP rep tells cops
By Opalyn Mok Published: December 2, 2014 02:47 PM 

DAP’s Wong Hon Wai, who is also a lawyer and providing legal counsel to some of the PPS members, said the police bail for the PPS members expired yesterday but that police did not explain the decision. — Picture by K.E. Ooi 

GEORGE TOWN, Dec 2 — Police should classify the case against the 158 Penang voluntary patrol unit (PPS) members as requiring “no further action” (NFA) now that their bail has lapsed without charges filed, said DAP’s Wong Hon Wai.

Wong, who is also a lawyer and providing legal counsel to some of the PPS members, said the police bail for the PPS members expired yesterday but that police did not explain the decision.

 “The fact that they were detained on August 31, before PPS was officially declared illegal early last month, showed that they don’t have any real case against the PPS members,” he told Malay Mail Online in an interview.

He also pointed out that the volunteers could not be charged for participating in an illegal organisation as the PPS had not yet been declared as such at the time of their arrest.

The 158 members, including three elected representatives, were arrested on August 31 after the annual Merdeka parade.

The Home Ministry only officially declared the unit unlawful last month and ordered that no group can now use the name, symbol or logo of the PPS.

The Penang state government has already ordered the unit to cease all activities from September 1 onwards pending any criminal charges against the PPS members.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today noted that the non-extension of the police bail for the unit members does not exactly mean they are free, as the Attorney-General’s Chambers could still pursue the case.

Lim contended that the police do not have any case against the unit members, as they would not have needed to extend their bail for 90 days without recommending charges.

The state government has appointed a team of seasoned lawyers including human rights activist Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan to apply for a judicial review on the declaration of PPS as an unlawful organisation.

The team, comprising of Tommy Thomas, Datuk Malek Imtiaz and Puchong MP Gobind Singh, will start legal proceedings against the Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for acting in bad faith when declaring the PPS as unlawful.

Lim said the legal team are now working out the details and statement of claim before filing it in High Court.

http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/close-case-against-penang-voluntary-patrol-members-dap-rep-tells-cops