KUALA LUMPUR: The prosecution in lawyer Siti Kasim’s case on obstructing a religious officer from conducting a raid on a transgender beauty pageant has filed an appeal against her acquittal.
Lawyer Saha Deva Arunasalam, representing Siti in her lawsuit against the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) and its officers for wrongful arrest and illegal detention, told reporters this during mention of her civil case in the High Court today.
He said the prosecution’s appeal was lodged on Aug 27.
Trial judge Latifah Mohd Tahar fixed Oct 28 for case management of today’s case, in which Siti is claiming compensation from Jawi and the government for wrongful arrest and illegal detention, pending the outcome of the prosecution’s appeal.
Siti was acquitted by the Magistrate’s Court here on Aug 21 on a charge of obstructing Jawi religious officer Nor Jihan Saleh from discharging her duties during a raid on the transgender beauty pageant on April 3, 2016.
The magistrate had ruled that the charge against Siti under Section 186 of Penal Code was defective as it did not state the manner in which the obstruction happened.
Siti commenced her civil action against Jawi and the government last year, claiming compensation for wrongful arrest and illegal detention.
She contended that she suffered “loss of freedom” for four hours after she was detained by Jawi officers on April 3, 2016 as well as nervous shock, insult and mental anguish.
She said she was only carrying out her duty as a lawyer during the raid, and insisted that she had not obstructed the officers from carrying out their duties.
