KUALA LUMPUR: A private medical doctor was awarded RM145,000 in damages by the Sessions Court after ruling that his arrest was unlawful.
Judge Zulqarnain Hassan ruled that Dr Ranjeet Singh had proven his case against the government on the balance of probabilities.
The court found that the arrest was unlawful and a breach of his constitutional rights.
"The defendants have failed to safeguard the plaintiff's rights under the Federal Constitution," he stated in his ruling delivered via email, as reported by FMT.
In addition to the damages, Ranjeet was awarded RM13,000 in costs.
Counsels V.R. Satchitanandan, S. Preakas and Chan Hoo Yan represented Ranjeet, while senior federal counsel Afiq Nazrin Zaharinan acted for the government.
In his statement of claim, filed on June 21, 2023, Ranjeet said that he was asleep at 1am on Aug 12, 2021, when the police raided his home in Green Park Residence and arrested him.
It said that during the arrest, he was subjected to inhumane and oppressive behaviour.
The doctor claimed to have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder following the incident.
The report said that the policemen failed to inform him of the grounds of his arrest and did not comply with Section 23 of the Criminal Procedure Code, since there was no valid reason for the raid and arrest.
Ranjeet named the investigating officer, the raiding officer, the government, and the Inspector-General of Police as defendants.
Ranjeet also sought a declaration that the arrest was unlawful and unconstitutional.