Putrajaya loses appeal against Bersih 2.0 over 2012 property damage suit
Justice Datuk Rohana Yusuf, who chaired the three-judge panel, dismissed the government's appeal on its main claim for over RM110,000 in compensation from Bersih 2.0.
“We do not find any provision in the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012 that clearly stipulates the right to claim by the government,” she said when giving the brief grounds of her ruling.
However Rohana said the panel is allowing part of the government's appeal on the counterclaim by former Bersih committee member Dr Wong Chin Huat.
The ruling means that the government does not need to pay RM6,000 out of the RM21,000 in damages previously awarded to Wong.
The two other judges on the panel today are Datuk Varghese George Varughese and Datuk Mary Lim Thiam Suan.
The judges have written three separate judgments for their unanimous ruling on this court case.
Last January 30, the Kuala Lumpur High Court ruled that Bersih 2.0 was not liable for property damage during its sit-in protest on April 28, 2012, dismissing the government's claim for RM110,543.27 in property damages.
Among other things, High Court judge Datuk John Louis O'Hara had noted that the police's own actions and omissions contributed and resulted in the damage, also saying then that the damages occurred after the rally was called off and that it was not proven satisfactorily that legitimate rally participants had caused the damage.
On May 23, 2012, the government sued Bersih 2.0 under Section 6 (2)(g) of the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA) 2012, claiming compensation for alleged damages to property — including 15 police vehicles — during the rally.
The government had sought for special damages amounting to RM110,543.27 from the then Bersih 2.0’s co-chairs Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan and Datuk A. Samad Said and 13 other committee members.
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Source : Malay Mail Online | All http://ift.tt/2bKUAVV
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