KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 — The police still have no fresh leads on their investigations on the forced disappearances of Pastor Raymond Koh, Joshua Helmi and his wife Ruth Sitepu and social activist Amri Che Mat, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said today.
Hamzah also said that the police are clueless on the whereabouts of Muhammad Riduan Abdullah, the Muslim-convert ex-husband of Hindu mother M. Indira Gandhi, who absconded after kidnapping their youngest daughter, M. Prasana Diksa.
“The police is still continuing to investigate the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh on the Kelana Jaya report 1540/2017, dated February 13, 2017, under Section 365 of the Penal Code (kidnapping or abduction of any person with the intent to cause that person to be secretly and wrongfully confined),” he said.
Hamzah added that to date, only one person has been charged in court on January 15, 2018, who would be tried on December 9, 2021.
“Investigations are also ongoing to trace the victim. For the disappearance cases of Joshua Helmy and his wife Ruth Sitepu on the Sg Way report 2249/2017 and the missing case of Amri Che Mat on the Kangar report 008554/2016, these cases have been classified as missing persons.
“The police have not gotten any new leads to trace the victims involved and their family members too did not receive any calls demanding ransom or other communications. The police are still working to trace the victims and the suspects responsible,” he added.
Hamzah responded via a written reply to a question by Batu Kawan MP Kasthuriraani Patto, who had asked to know about the status of investigations into the death of former customs department officer Anisah Ali while on duty in 2016.
She also asked about the updates on the investigations on the forced disappearances and on Riduan.
On Riduan’s case, Hamzah said that the former is believed to no longer be in the country, nor at any one place overseas, and keeps moving from one location to another to avoid being traced.
He said that efforts are ongoing with the authorities abroad to trace Riduan’s location.
On Anisah’s case, Hamzah said that the police are still investigating and efforts are ongoing to track suspects involved in the case.
“Therefore, I do not intend to comment further regarding this case, to not disrupt investigations,” he added.
Anisah, who was 54-years-old at that time, was killed after a four-wheel-drive vehicle driven by a “tonto” rammed into her vehicle in Pasir Mas, Kelantan in 2016, when she was tailing a vehicle allegedly carrying smuggled cigarettes.
The only suspect in the case was released by police in November 2016.
This comes as a report earlier this week said cosmetics entrepreneur Nur Sajat Kamaruzzaman was arrested by Thai immigration authorities in Bangkok, Thailand after she allegedly crossed borders to escape persecution.
The arrest was reportedly made on September 8 based on information from Malaysian authorities on the whereabouts of the transgender woman, who is hounded in Malaysia by Islamic authorities over her gender identity.
