KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Lawyer Alvin Tan today questioned the Federal Court chief registrar’s office for not releasing closed-circuit camera footage of the bail counter here amid a growing dispute of the operation hours that saw six accused spend the long Aidilfitri weekend in jail.

The lawyer representing the six accused men accused of cheating requested CCTV footage at the bail counter to be disclosed instead, saying it provides a clearer view of what happened on April 20.

“The current CCTV footage only shows people walking around the court complex and using the Cash Deposit Machine,” Tan said in a statement.

He was responding to the court chief registrar’s release of CCTV footage yesterday to support its assertion that the Kuala Lumpur Court Complex bail counter did not close early but was in operation until 4pm on that Thursday, which was a day before the surprise announcement of an extra public holiday on the eve of Aidilfitri that was officially marked on April 22 this year.

According to Tan, the publicly released footage so far only confirms that the six accused had bailors who were ready to pay the bail money to secure their release.

“The bailors for the six that were sent to Sungai Buloh prison can also be seen in the CCTV footage.

“Therefore, the initial reason that the bailors for the six were not present until 4pm is not accurate.

“I maintained that I was informed at 2.53pm that the bail counter had a cut off time at 3pm and that they refused to process new bail applications,” Tan said.

He reiterated that the bailors for the six men left the court around 2pm to withdraw more money at another bank and returned before 3pm to process the bail for the six men, but could not do so as the counter was closed.

“We really do not wish to pursue this matter any further, but it appears that there is no end to this.

“Before we move any further with this issue, maybe we should ponder on this simple question — if the bail counter did not close early on April 20, and there was enough proof to rebut what I have alleged, then why would the bail counter be open on a public holiday to process the bail application?” Tan asked.

The six accused whose names have not been disclosed were forced to spend the long Hari Raya Aidilfitri weekend in jail after failing to obtain bail allegedly due to the closure of the bail counter in the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex have been released on Monday.

Last Sunday, the chief registrar’s office denied allegations that the bail counter closed earlier than usual.

In a statement, the chief registrar’s office said that six accused had to go to prison because their bailors did nor show up and not because the bail counter had closed early.

The six accused were among 10 men who had been charged with criminal conspiracy with the intention to cheat.

The other four were released as the bail had been processed earlier.

Tan has maintained that the bail counter closed at 2.53pm despite a notice apparently stating that office hours were until 4.30pm on April 20.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2023/04/28/lawyer-wants-court-to-show-bail-counter-cctv-too-after-court-registrar-releases-footage-amid-dispute-that-sent-six-accused-to-jail-over-raya-weekend/66770