KUALA LUMPUR: Four Indonesians here lost their bid to challenge their arrest and prosecution for declaring a person 'Imam Mahdi'.
High Court judge Datuk Hanipah Farikullah made the decision after allowing a preliminary objection by the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) today.
She ruled that the power of investigation and prosecution by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) over them cannot be challenged.
The judge also said that their application should have been filed at the Syariah Court.
Senior Federal Counsel Shamsul Bolhassan informed reporters of the matter after the case came up for hearing in chambers.
Indonesians Rahmat Abdullah Makki Almalik, 38; Kharmain, 55; Cut Wardah, 53, and Ismelda Harfianti Lubis, 45, had applied for leave to initiate a judicial review proceeding against Jawi, the government and two others, over their allegedly wrongful arrest and detention.
The four also claimed that Federal Territory Syarie chief prosecutor Mohammad Adib Husain and Federal Territory senior Syarie prosecutor Zainor Rashid Hassin had wrongfully prosecuted them under Section 6(a) of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act 1997 for false claim.
They were represented by lawyer Tengku Azlina Tengku Ismail.