Blogger Eyes Wide Open had an interesting take in his blog on the recent hype in the media on the efforts by the police to track down RPK, entitled ‘Unravelling the mystery of the Great RPK Manhunt’ .
He wrote :
Well, if we take a step back and look at this whole manhunt thing from the perspective that it’s all just a big hoax or sandiwara, then you will notice a pattern emerging.
In the past few weeks, interest suddenly flares up about finding RPK after months of inactivity. Lots of talk, but there is ZERO progress in actually FINDING RPK”.
EWO then asked :
“Didn’t the cops “confirm” that RPK was in Australia a few months ago? They didn’t bring him back then. Now that the cops “confirm” that RPK is in London, they’re STILL NOT INTERESTED TO CATCH THEIR MAN?”.
Malaysiakini has it that IGP Musa has confirmed that the police have asked the British authorities to help trace RPK and that, on the matter of applying to extradite RPK from Britain, assuming him to be there, Musa said such an application would take time, but then added that “…there is no need for (an extradition) order. He has to surrender“.
And according to Staronline, our learned AG has also gotten in on this, reporting that “Gani said authorities were still making efforts to identify the exact whereabouts of RPK and once he was located, proper applications would have to be made in accordance with the country involved to take him back to Malaysia to face charges”.
Now, I don’t know where RPK is but, wherever he is, I can’t see him walking into the nearest local police station and, as our IGP thinks he should, telling the officer in charge there that the police in Malaysia have some unfinished business with him, ask to be cuffed and then repatriated back to the police authorities in Malaysia.
What I can imagine him doing, with a mischievous glint in his eye, whilst chuckling to himself, is to send an e-mail to the Malaysian police to render the fullest details of his present place of residence and end it with “I dare you to apply to extradite me without any delay”. ( Pete, wherever you are, please do not read this as an encouragement to do this )
Why?
Again, knowing RPK as I think I do, the wily fox would have parked himself in some jurisdiction where the judiciary decides according to the law and not according to the say-so of the powers-that-be, and would allow for the admission of all relevant evidence on an extradition application.
And in such a jurisdiction, the RPK that I think I know would relish the opportunity to oppose an extradition application.
Our mata-mata say he is living it up in some trendy place in London.
Let’s suppose our boys in blue have, for once, got it right.
Note also that the coppers want RPK back to answer a charge or charges of sedition in relation to a post about sending the Altantuya muderers to hell which they allege he had posted in cyberspace, and criminal defamation charges in relation to a statutory declaration he had sworn in which he named one fat mama and two army officers as being present at the time that the body of Altantuya was blown with explosives.
Now, Wikipedia explains extradition as “the official process whereby one nation or state requests and obtains from another nation or state the surrender of a suspected or convicted criminal. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties. Where extradition is compelled by laws, such as among sub-national jurisdictions, the concept may be known more generally as rendition” and goes on to proffer 4 common bars to an extradition order being issued :
- Failure to fulfill dual criminality – generally the act for which extradition is sought must constitute a crime punishable by some minimum penalty in both the requesting and the requested parties.
- Political nature of the alleged crime – most countries refuse to extradite suspects of political crimes.
- Possibility of certain forms of punishment – some countries refuse extradition on grounds that the person, if extradited, may receive capital punishment or face torture. A few go as far as to cover all punishments that they themselves would not administer.
- Citizenship of the person in question – some countries refuse extradition of own citizens, holding trials for the persons themselves. In some cases, such as that of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, the suspect will not face criminal charges at all.
Now, consider the sedition charge or charges against RPK in the context of the first bar stated above, that is, the failure to fulfill dual criminality.
Our learned AG must surely know that, with effect from 1/1/2010, pursuant to the provisions of section 73 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the offence of sedition has been abolished in the United Kingdom.
Ironic, isn’t it?
Our Sedition Act, 1948 is a relic of our British colonial masters. They’ve now abolished it, yet we still have it to continue to silence legitimate dissent.
Would the British courts grant an order to extradite RPK, who has a right of abode there, to face sedition charges here when sedition is no longer an offence in their jurisdiction?
Something for the AG and Musa to think about, no?
The criminal defamation charge, now, is the one that is really interesting.
I did some research on this. You can have a look at my source material HERE.
A few excerpts :
“This brief reviews the use of criminal defamation laws in 12 European, commonwealth and common law countries, and examines the extent to which criminal libel comports with the protection of freedom of expression. It finds that in those states, prosecutions for criminal defamation are increasingly rare and that prison sentences are virtually never imposed…the use of criminal sanctions for defamation is at best unnecessary and at worst an abuse of the right to freedom of expression”.
“Whilst criminal defamation laws are generally properly prescribed by law, it is submitted that they frequently fail to pursue a legitimate aim and are not necessary in a democratic society because they are not proportionate to the aim pursued”.
“…criminal defamation laws are unacceptably harsh for three principle reasons. The first reason is that they create an impermissible “chilling effect” stemming the flow of protected speech. The second reason is that they improperly shift the burden of proof onto a criminal defendant. Finally, the third reason is that criminal defamation can be adequately addressed by the civil law”.
“In its jurisprudence, the European Court of Human Rights has recognised that criminal sanctions for defamation create a “chilling effect” that can lead to censorship of potentially important speech. Recognising this threat to freedom of political debate, the Court has held that restraint must be used in the imposition of criminal sanctions for defamation. In the context of political debate, the Court said in the Lingens case that criminal censure is likely to discourage the making of criticisms as well “hamper the press in performing its task as purveyor of information and public watchdog”.
“In many commonwealth and common law countries, prosecutions for criminal libel are rare. There have been hardly any prosecutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in recent years, and in Scotland, there is no criminal libel”.
Sure, criminal defamation still appears on the statute books in UK, but given the prevailing sentiment in Europe with regard to the same, and the views of the European Court of Human Rights as stated above, in particular, one cannot discount the possibility that this aspect of the criminal law of England has, for all intents and purposes, fallen into disuse.
Seen in that light, the first bar to the granting of an extradition order as narrated above may yet warrant consideration in respect of the criminal defamation charge against RPK.
However, it is the second bar, the political nature of the alleged crime, considered in the context of the present criminal defamation charge against RPK, that would, in my view, make for a most intriguing and riveting extradition proceeding, if one is ever presented by our AG in the British courts.
RPK has disclosed previously that when he was summoned to and attended at the Sentul police station in July ( I think ) of 2008 to give his statement in relation to the impugned statutory declaration, he was informed by the investigating officer that this was in furtherance of an investigation of a complaint that RPK had sworn out false statements in that declaration. In short, the offence being investigated was that of having made a false statutory declaration.
RPK has since complained that he has been charged with criminal defamation rather than that of having made a false statutory declaration for the sole purpose of thwarting any move on his part to exonerate himself by proving the truth of the contents of the declaration, that is, that the fat mama and the two army officers were in fact present at the time that the body of Altantuya was blown up.
When first arraigned to enter a plea to the criminal defamation charge, RPK refused to do so, contending that the charge was tainted with mala fides.
Now, if our AG proceeds to file extradition proceedings in the British courts, would the presiding judge, having in mind the considerations of the political nature of the crime principle, alllow RPK the fullest latitude to canvass his contention that this charge is nothing more than selective prosecution, in bad faith to supress evidence of the truth of the contents of the statutory declaration emerging in the course of any court proceedings?
Would the court hearing the extradition application be prepared to allow RPK to lead his evidence of the truth of the contents of that statutory declaration to support a contention that the AG, conspiring with those in the highest office of governance, has preferred this charge to silence RPK?
Would the court consider as relevant to an allegation of conspiracy to suppress evidence by silencing RPK, the evidence of DSP Gan in the sedition trial where, it emerged in cross-examination of this witness, the police had not investigated any of the allegations in the ‘Send the Altantuya murderers to hell’ article?
The Federal Court that had heard RPK’s application to recuse the late Augustine Paul in the matter of the Home Minister’s appeal against the order of the Shah Alam High Court in November 2008 declaring RPK’s detention under the ISA illegal and ordering his release, had conducted itself in a most disgraceful and unjudicious fashion, bearing all the trademarks of a kangaroo court.
Would RPK be allowed to advance an argument that the judiciary has shown little signs of having rehabilitated itself from the days of Anwar Ibrahim’s farcical criminal trials on corruption and sodomy charges?
Would RPK be allowed to lead evidence to show that the judiciary is a servant to the Executive and given that the fat mama who is said to have been criminally defamed by RPK is well connected to that Executive, there is no reason for RPK to believe that he will receive a fair trial if extradited back to Malaysia?
No, EWO, make no mistake.
Our coppers want their man badly.
But at the price of a tell-all extradition proceeding?
I suspect Mahathir’s year 2020 will have come and gone and that extraditon application will not as yet have seen the light of day.
I hope I’m proven wrong on this one.
Saifuddin Razak
January 14, 2010
The UMNO puppets don’t think before opening their mouths. So, they toots their horns and when it comes to walk the talk, they go into deep silence. Maybe the grassroot UMNO zealots can press their on …further embarrassing the top brass of this country.
leekh
January 14, 2010
They will just pretend. Like we are stupid actually some 2 bit private stole the engines.
doggone
January 14, 2010
I’m absolutely humored near the end of this well written article that was totally devoid of course languages. I was reading it with a straight face until ‘that fat mama’ appeared in a sentence that jolted me from sobriety to a state of convulsive laughter. Dang Haris, this is good.
Ak_Malaysia
January 14, 2010
Thank you for your brilliant and interesting insights! Enjoyed it very much indeed.
RPK, may God bless and protect you wherever you are. Take good care and…. keep it coming.. not only will your tens of thousands of supporters love it, the whole of Malaysia will love your expose!
Ernest Steven
January 14, 2010
That unholy trinity of the attorney general, inspector general of police and the promoter of 1malaysia surely must have “some” intelligence. Any drawn out protracted extradition hearing in a foreign courtroom will most certainly result in the exposure of their persecution of RPK. It will highlight the corruption of the judicial process. I sincerely doubt that they want to go down this track. If I was a betting man, I would bet top dollar on the odds that they will just make noises but will steer clear of actually trying to get RPK back. Anyone wanna bet????
sang kancil
January 14, 2010
As we say over here, you chaps have no hope in hell to extradite our RPK from UK. If I am not mistaken, RPK has the Welsh blood and that makes him a VERY British Subject. He will have the protection of our Queen, Queen Elizabeth the Second of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. She may be a constitutional Monarch, but she has more power and influence than any king or sultan in the world.
There.
jerry
January 14, 2010
IGP seems to have lost his sense of direction;in Malaysia it is a plain fact (or open secret)rather that the PDRM is too engrossed with catching the innocent than going after the guilty,how pathetic;let me quote a fine example:when my room was ransacked at Fajar on 18 August last year,a police report was lodged after a real hassle;it was finally released after a week but efforts to catch the thief was in vain because of the sheer lackaidasal attitude of the CID by the name of Jamaluddin;even the name of the suspect,his address and phone number was given but sadly until today the case has still been outstanding,all because of 2 things;firstly the suspect is Muslim and secondly the CID expects some coffee money or bribery for his service because he answered*nanti kalau ada masa baru kami pergi siasat*;how petrifying if this the police force we have in Malaysia
pendatang in berlin
January 14, 2010
dear Haris, good article
Sam01
January 14, 2010
Of course you are right Haris. This news that we read is for stupid kampong folks’ consumption. To give an impression that this dangerous RPK has been tracked and will be brought back.
Then nothing happens since the IGP and AG will look stupid in the eyes of the world.
The Scarlet Pimple
January 14, 2010
What you have here are cowards, who are illiterate as well.
The leading “STARS” of this comedy of Errors have opened their collective mouths and have put their collective feet into it.(apologies to Wm. Shakespeare}.
apa anam
January 14, 2010
eh you sure fei chai not sharing a flat with that razak baginda ah? both in uk. every night go party but never invite the rest of us. so bad one they all.
artchan
January 14, 2010
this is Malaysia…and we have idiots for AG and IGP.
KING
January 14, 2010
RPK has out live the Augustine Paul, a message from Allah, beware you criminals you will be next. Death is like a thief in the nite, you never know when it will strike, mate. Augustine is a FOREVER ISA in HELL.
Avatar
January 14, 2010
Rest In Hell the most wicked Augustine Paul. Finally you have to pay the price by getting cancer to terminate your evil actionand your moronly life. I am very glad that you finally have to end up in HELL. serve you right bastard …
veryupset
January 14, 2010
Well…. Bala is clearly pointing his fingersfor us & the world to see. Why is it that till now “nothing” has been done???
Moreover, the accuse is here. Didn’t go MIA..! Why such an intrest in RPK who only “told” stories???
And taking sooo….. long to catch the church burners. Stolen jet engines are such small fries…!!
Mmmmm…..
Wonder what’s under the “blanket”………………..!!!
ckh
January 14, 2010
I tend to agree with Ernest Steven but one can never tell how stupid these blokes are!! They are more stupid then we would like to think they are! Otherwise you think they would have gone into all this mess?
Leithaisor
January 14, 2010
The learned A-G also said that RPK may face an additional charge for using a foreign passport to leave the country.
If I am not mistaken, with his Welsh mother (indeed RPK was born in England), RPK may well be entitled to British citizenship and with that a British passport.
If so, not only is the additional charge possibly a moot point (though RPK may have some problem with his Malaysian citizenship given that Malaysia does not permit dual nationality), the extradition request may likely be affected too.
Pratamad
January 14, 2010
You guys are simply bad by reviving the nightmere of our AG Patail lah. Remember how he ‘fought’ (actually more like acting) in the international court case against Spore on Pedra Blanca islet? Such scenes, with international judicial standard, have been haunting Patail ever since. Remember how a *doctored* photo was even submitted by Msia to prove how close that islet is to our shore, all to our national disgrace when Spore team exposed it in front of international experts. Our Parlimen should have requested his resignation over that disgrace. (At least now we know he or his son, who was on the Msian legal team, is a Photoshop user. 😉
And now you want him to ‘fight’ an extradition case in a UK court? Pls spare him some mercy. Thank you.
cruzeiro
January 14, 2010
I agree with you that they PRDM wouldn’t attempt to extradite RPK for the reasons you mention. The last thing Jibby would want, is to internationalize this Altantuya affair.
However, I think that EWO is right in saying that the Australia, Poland & London stories are just that – stories – to keep the people thinking that they’re “working on it”. Moreover, this London story might’ve possibly been also to link RPK with Kalimullah – the press “bad-boy” of Pak Lah.
If at all RPK has left the country, he was probably “allowed to leave undetected”. With our e-passport, we all know how immigration records can be deleted electronically.
RPK might be “holidaying” in Cherating or Tioman with a Havana, for all we know – and PRDM cannot touch him ‘cos ‘somebody’ is protecting him, and Jibby doesn’t want anymore shit thrown in his face …. RPK must be having an “ace” up his sleeve.
tean
January 14, 2010
But at the price of a tell-all extradition proceeding? Haris.
This is the price for tell-all extradition.
C2H
January 14, 2010
The DPM guy is currently in UK on official function, the three stooges, namely PM,AG & PIG (sorry IGP) may have asked the DPM to personally stake out at the posh place that RPK was supposed to lodge.
Now the picture shows RPK in front of LSE, the DPM may have to rush over to LSE to demand UK police for RPK’s arrest!! That’s what the three stooges like to dream.
RPK, be safe and be healthy always and please keep them guessing & dreaming of arresting you, sir.
VengeanceBelongTotheLord
January 14, 2010
Hello Harris
I would like to bring your attention to this posting at Malaysia Today. Is it true? Don’t know but if it is not true why make such report? So the truth is there.
http://malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29609:misteri-pembunuhan-kejam-ibu-saudara-rosmah-mengapa-takut&catid=16:from-around-the-blogs&Itemid=100132
What I believe in is that when there is unjust blood split, it cried out to heaven for vengeance. And our country has more than its fair share of violence and unjust dead. And given the volatility of the country right now where there is a great lack of meeting of minds, the possibility of divine cleansing is there.
As such Najib, all associated with him and the vile part in UMNO must go.
Regards
telur dua
January 14, 2010
They think UK and Scotland Yard are BN component parties. They only have to ask and it’ll be given.
Actually RPK is in Ulan Bator at the invitation of the Mongolian Government.
Duniaku
January 14, 2010
RPK is everywhere haha. The guy is COOL!
Admiral Tojo
January 14, 2010
Papers presented to an independent and uncorrupted Court will be detrimental to Jibby and Co. So this WAYANG KULIT will remain as such, Wayang Kulit. Yet they think we are all morons like them.
Shalom
Patrick
January 14, 2010
Harris,
Brilliant peice men, you sure rock buddy.
I agree, there is no way RPK can be extridiate back here.
He will come back after GE13. So lets work hard till that date comes.
RPK,
I wish i am in UK, earn high currency salary, god public tpt, gud schools, minimal crime rates vs populations, smoke pot and everthing gud lah UK.
Malaysia apa ada….jadi baruah kerajaan and rakyat hidup susah pasal kerajan rasuah.
wandererAUS
January 14, 2010
In Malaysia, the UMNO administrators like to project a heroic image to their ‘DONKEY” FOLLOWERS BUT, IN THE INTERNATIONAL SCENE, IF THEY TRY TO PURSUE AND EXTRADITE RPK, THESE UMNO GOONS WILL MAKE THEMSELVES LOOK LIKE EVEN BIGGER DONKEYS!!!!
RPK HAVE FUN, YOUR STAY FUGITIVE LIFE WILL NOT BE TOO LONG, UMNO WON’T BE AROUND AFTER NEXT GE……
selvaraja somiah
January 14, 2010
Excellent insight Harris. The IGP and Gani Patil are just playing to the gallery. Egg is all over their face and they know majority of Malaysians know they can do ****kall to get Pet on extradition from wherever he is. In their dreams boleh lah but for the time being its nightmare for both IGP and our Gani whenever Petra’s name is mentioned.
Clowns this 2 fellows.
R.Prem Kumar
January 14, 2010
The Police Inspector General Tan Sri Musa has no idea whatsoever that very few police officers will dare say to his face that he is making a complete fool of himself. Unbridled he is chasing the dangling carrot and getting a whack on his hind – as the willy RPK takes him and his organization for a whole sale ride.
NanoNano
January 14, 2010
Bro Harris,
Can they extradite RPK for abuse or misusing international travel documents? Those in the corridors of power can always say he travelled to foreign lands using falsified documents?
NanoNano,
Please don’t lose sleep over this question.
ajajal
January 14, 2010
IGP services are no longer of use he is being in place to do cover ,,,,,for the UMNO warlords. As for the AG he is just an idiot and making us Malaysian stupid in the eyes of the world. It would help us most if they catch mosquitoes this will help us to get rid of the rising dengue fever.
PH
January 14, 2010
Hay, that was my School man !!!
donplaypuks
January 14, 2010
He’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere! The Scarlet Pimpernel.
Heh, heh, heh! Why can’t they shut the **** up and admit they have no clue where he is?
dpp
We are all of 1 race, the Human Race
Commonsense
January 16, 2010
The rest of us are, not umnoputras, and no, they don’t belong to the animal race either, more like the ‘setan’ race.
extraditioner
January 14, 2010
Well the IGP and AG will only show their stupidity in attempting to extradite RPK
DONT WASTE TAX PAYERS MONEY LAH PLEASE.There are better and more important things to do. I challenge them – a very futile attempt.Dont treat members of public to be fools This is not 1950.
IbnAbdHalim
January 14, 2010
Something for the AG and Musa to think about, no?
=================================================
How to think with pea-sized brains? If they can think they won’t be ball-lickers.
Meng
January 15, 2010
Have the umno donkeys said anything intelligent so far. With pea brains what do you expect..?
NanoNano
January 15, 2010
Ha Ha, now Kalimullah says that RPK never stayed in his London flat!
Aiyoh..yoh what to do now? Might as well let him go lah. NFA
anek uren
January 16, 2010
“apply to extradite RPK, sure or not?” is very insightfull. It has wide legal discussion put into. Although the posers are by way of scenario the write up is very profoundly tailored to the circumstances and the legal implications that might have to be traversed were the extradiction of RPK to be applied for by our UMNO-led Malaysian government. There is no brain that can equal any of the Queen’s Counsels in the UK among our UMNO-led AG Chambers. The recent debacle over the little rocky outcrop Islets that lie between Johore and Singapore that Singapore won over Malaysia in London has brought enough shame to our Country. Trying to etradite RPK, that is if he is in London and under jurisdiction of British law, will only open up a can of worm which will not be within the means of our AG Chambers to contaain. Worst for it will be exposing the ‘worms in the can’ to the scrutiny of the ever inquisitive Western Media. Furthermore if among the worm in the can is dressed in the form of Atantuya it will surely drag people from Mangolia to be insterested and to want to be a party in the proceedings. Likewise France would want to be involved because surely the issue of Scorpene submarines and the commission paid to a company allegedly linked with a party supposedly having interest in the extradiction proceeding would be reason enough for them to be wanting to come out clean from any alleged linked to the commission of a huge amount of allegedly RM530.0 million or E114.0 million. The issue is why is a commission paid to a company of a crony over a government dealing. Why was it not on a government to government transaction? The amount of commission paid by the comapny in France is more than enough to support thousands of students in their pursuit of further studies in the built up of our brain power, for example.
Coming back to the topic under discussion may it be recorded that your write up is right on the mark. Hope that our leaders will take head and not make another blunder by trying to extradite RPK. This effort if taken beside the blunder hitting at the face of our country will cause much expenditure to be wasted. Let the matter rest and over time maybe the whole issue of Atantuya will also be forgotten. Insallah. Of course to the writer of that article I should say you keep up the good work and right until the next 13GE.
Commonsense
January 16, 2010
I just love reading this piece! Keep it up.