Drop the charges, PSM tells Gani

PSM questions the AG's rationale in pursuing criminal
charges against residents of Green Cow in
Cameron Highlands over a civil matter

PETALING JAYA: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) wants Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail to drop criminal charges against residents of Green Cow, a farming area, in Cameron Highlands.

PSM Cameron Highlands secretary general B Suresh Kumar and four residents – S Nagarajan, S Thanabalan, S Marappan and S Ravindran were charged for wrongful restrain of a developer.

Suresh, Nagarajan and Thanabalan were charged under section 341 of the Penal Code in June last year for stopping Ng Yeet Ng from clearing their farms for development.

Nagarajan was also charged under section 506 of the Penal Code for criminal intimidation.

The Cameron Highlands magistrate court released all of them on July 30 on the grounds that they had legitimate safety concerns over the clearing of the hill top farms.

The prosecution appealed against the decision on Aug 24.

In the second case, Marappan and Ravindran were arrested in July and remanded for a day over the same charge under section 341.

Both were charged under section 341 for allegedly restraining a lorry belonging to the developer. The case will be heard on Oct 2.

Why so gung-ho?

PSM secretary general S Arutchelvan questioned the AG’s decision to appeal the case. “What is the rational for making an appeal to the High Court?”

Arutchelvan explained that these two cases involved a dispute over a civil matter.

“There must an element of crime to charge someone under criminal law. In this case, it is civil tresspass,” he said.

He also questioned the police’s determination in wanting to press criminal charges against the five.

“Why are they so gung-ho in wanting to press criminal charges and why are they assisting the developer?” asked Arutchelvan, after handing a memorandum to AG Chambers public relations officer, Nasrudin H Mahmud, today.