Settle shooting case ‘amicably’
Court gives all parties a month to decide
PUTRAJAYA: The parties involved in a civil suit filed by families of three youths killed by the police in a shootout have been told by the Court of Appeal to try and settle the matter out of court.
Court of Appeal judge Justice Mohd Zawawi Salleh, who chaired a three-man panel, issued the directive after hearing the appeal by the families of the deceased yesterday.
“We direct the parties to explore an amicable settlement in the spirit of fairness and justice. The parties are advised to settle it within a month,” said Justice Mohd Zawawi after hearing submissions by the families’ lawyer and Government and police representatives.
He said the panel, which consisted of Court of Appeal judges Justices Vernon Ong Lam Kiat and Abdul Rahman Sebli, would deliver its decision on Sept 1 if there was no settlement.
The families’ lead counsel N. Surendran told the panel that he would write in to the Attorney-General’s Chambers about the directive.
Senior federal counsel Norliza Zulkifli assured the panel that she would consult her superior about the development.
Muhammad Shamil Hafiz Shapiei, 15, Mohd Hairul Nizam Tuah, 20, and Muhamad Hanafi Omar, 22, were reportedly shot in an early morning incident at Glenmarie on Nov 13, 2010.
Their families filed a civil suit but it was dismissed on Aug 11 last year after the Shah Alam High Court ruled that the policemen had fired shots in self-defence.
The High Court also held that it could not form an opinion on whether there was execution-style killing of the youths due to the absence of expert evidence.
High Court Judicial Commissioner Rozana Ali Yusoff held that the court found evidence that the three policemen involved in the shooting incident were credible and believable. The three policemen in question are Insp Azrin Ezahar, Kpl Kamarul Zaman Awang and L/Kpl Khairul Azahar Jali.
The families had on Nov 12, 2013, filed a suit against the police and the Government for negligence, assault and battery.
The plaintiffs Shapiei Zainal Abidin, Norhafizah Mad Razali (Muhammad Shamil’s parents), Hamidah Kadar (Mohd Hairul’s mother), Norhaliza Tuah (Mohd Hairul’s sister), Omar Abu Bakar and Noriah Darus (Muhamad Hanafi’s parents) named the Shah Alam district police chief as the first defendant in the suit.
They subsequently named the Selangor police chief, the Inspector-General of Police, the Government and other policemen as defendants.
In the statement of claim, the plaintiffs alleged that the deaths were a result of the policemen’s actions and were without justification.