The family of missing Malaysian pastor Raymond Koh has won a landmark court case.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court this week ordered the government of Malaysia to pay daily compensation of around £1,830 – backdated to February 2017 – to Koh’s wife Susanna. This currently amounts to more than £5 million.
Raymond Koh has been missing since he was dramatically abducted from his car, in broad daylight. CCTV footage showed Koh’s car surrounded by three black SUVs. Several hooded men overpowered him and forced him into one of their vehicles. The well-planned incident, on February 13, 2017, lasted barely 40 seconds. In 2019 a Human Rights Commission in Malaysia ruled in a public inquiry that the abduction had been carried out by members of the police’s elite Special Branch.
Koh’s wife Susanna has campaigned for the whereabouts of her husband to be made known. After this week’s court ruling she said, ‘We are overjoyed and thankful to God that we have a fair and honest judgement.’
The high court judge said this week that current and former police officers were involved in the abduction. The police will now be required to reopen the investigation into Raymond’s disappearance and inform the country’s attorney-general of progress.
High Court Judge Su Tiang Joo said, ‘The court is satisfied that the plaintiffs have proven that (the defendants) had exercised public power in bad faith. The enforced disappearance of Koh collectively constitutes oppression of the highest order.’ The funds awarded to Susanna and her children will be kept in a trust fund and cannot be released to the family until the pastor’s whereabouts have been ascertained.
Release International’s CEO Paul Robinson said, ‘It is heartening to hear that the court in Malaysia has publicly recognised the injustice of Raymond’s disappearance. Release International supporters have been praying for Raymond’s family since his disappearance in 2017. We continue to pray that the full story of what has happened to Raymond will now be revealed.’
(Sources: Christian Today; BBC News)
Give thanks for the outcome of the Kuala Lumpur High Court case
Pray that the reopened investigation will establish what has happened to Raymond Koh
Pray for Susanna and her children, that they will continue to know the Lord’s comfort, protection and grace.
