Tommy Thomas claims he can’t be sued as public prosecutor in ex-AIAC director suit

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 4) : Former Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas said that he cannot be held liable for malicious prosecution and misfeasance in public office in former Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) director Datuk N Sundra Rajoo's civil suit against him.

This was in line with powers of prosecution conferred to the AG under Article 145(3) of the Federal Constitution.

"In the alternative, the only avenue available [for Sundra Rajoo] against [my] actions as complained...in this claim, lay in judicial review proceedings, which have since been exhausted by [Sundra Rajoo] and which [he] is now barred from re-litigating," he said in his defence seen by theedgemarkets.com.

This comes after the High Court on July 21 dismissed an application by Thomas and 12 others to strike out an RM3.75 million malicious prosecution suit against them by Sundra Rajoo.

The High Court also ordered all the defendants — who include the government, former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull, and several deputy public prosecutors and MACC officers — to file their statement of defence.

Sundra Rajoo had filed the suit in October last year in which he accused the defendants of committing misfeasance in public office and malicious prosecution and false imprisonment.

He asserted that he enjoyed immunity as the AIAC director, as stipulated under the International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1982, and he alleged that he was wrongfully arrested by the MACC on Nov 20, 2018, and was forced to resign from his position on Thomas’ instructions which led to the appointment of the late Vinayak Pradhan to replace him.

Sundra Rajoo filed the suit after he was charged with three counts of criminal breach of trust in March 2019, involving AIAC’s funds amounting to RM1.01 million.

The charges were dropped after the High Court, and later the Federal Court, ruled that as AIAC director, Sundra Rajoo had the privilege of immunity from criminal proceedings and that the AG did not have “absolute and unfettered discretion under Article 145(3) to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for criminal offences”.