The Court of Appeal today upheld the finding of the High Court that former investigating officer in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy case, Jude Pereira, is a fit and proper person to practise law.
BY V. ANBALAGAN, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Published: 6 July 2015 4:37 PM
The Court of Appeal today upheld the finding of the High Court that former investigating officer in Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s second sodomy case, Jude Pereira, is a fit and proper person to practise law.
A three-man bench chaired by Datuk David Wong Dak Wah said it found no reason to “disturb” the decision of High Court judge Lee Swee Seng last December.
“We unanimously find no reason to disturb the findings of the trial judge,” he said in dismissing the appeal by the Malaysian Bar.
An elated Pereira, who was admitted to the Bar on March 31 this year, said he was looking forward to practising law and also setting up his own firm.
“I had written to the council to process my application to start the firm but they wanted to wait for the outcome in the Court of Appeal.”
Lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, who represented the council, said he had to take further instructions from his client whether to file an appeal in the Federal Court.
On December 17 last year, Lee made the order in Ipoh after allowing Pereira’s petition for enrolment and admission as an advocate and solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.
Lee also imposed a condition that Pereira must attend some human rights seminars, forums, activities or programmes organised by the council’s human rights committee for three months.
He said the programmes should not be viewed as punishment but to serve as reflective rehabilitation for Pereira’s new role.
The judge said the court took into consideration that the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) report was laced with some sarcasm or perhaps susceptible to more than one possible interpretation.
He also took into consideration the fact that the council did not lodge any police report after the release of the said Suhakam report.
Lee said affidavit evidence that Pereira had served the force with distinction both locally and in Sierra Leone and also rose to the rank of superintendent before retiring after some 37 years of service, had not been disputed.
Pereira had complied with the judge’s instruction to attend human rights programmes.
The council appealed Lee’s decision on grounds that the judge made a wrong finding on the character of the retired police officer.
Lawyer Dominic Selvam, who represented Pereira, told the three-man bench today that his client has an impeccable record while in service and he was never subjected disciplinary proceeding in the force.
“There has been no criminal investigation nor police report lodge against Pereira after the Suhakam report.”
The council had objected to Pereira’s admission, citing a Suhakam inquiry into a case involving the arrest of five lawyers during a candlelight vigil, which found that Pereira was not a credible witness.
The inquiry, based on the 2009 arrest of the lawyers for allegedly failing to disperse, found Pereira, who was deputy superintendent at Brickfields police, and then district police chief ACP Wan Abdul Bari Wan Abdul Khalid, of having acted in bad faith and violating human rights.
Pereira was the main investigating officer in the Sodomy II trial against Anwar, who was initially acquitted on January 12, 2012. He retired in 2012.
On February 10, the Federal Court affirmed the the findings of the Court of Appeal which sentenced the former parliamentary opposition leader to five year’s jail. – July 6, 2015.
