Khairuddin and Chang's sabotage case: Hearing on Nov 2

The Court of Appeal has fixed Nov 2 to hear two appeals relating to a charge faced by former Batu Kawan UMNO division vice-chief Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan and lawyer Matthias Chang for attempting to sabotage the country's banking and financial services.

The court's deputy registrar Fatin Khazin set the date when the case came up before her for case management in chambers today.

Khairuddin's lawyer Zainal Narudin, who was present during the proceeding, said one of the appeals was the prosecution's appeal on a High Court order of releasing both Khairuddin and Chang on bail.

The other is Khairuddin's appeal on the validity of Section 50 (3) of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 which allows the prosecution to appeal to the Court of Appeal without obtaining leave.

Zainal said the Court of Appeal would tomorrow hear Khairuddin's appeal over a High Court's dismissal of his bid to strike out his sabotage charge which he (Khairuddin) had applied for on grounds the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali did not have the authority as attorney-general when he instituted the charge against Khairuddin.

Also present at the case management proceeding were lawyer Mohd Akmal Afiq Mohamad for Chang and deputy public prosecutor Dhiya Syazwani Izyan Mohd Akhir for the prosecution.

Khairuddin, 54, and Chang, 66, were charged under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA), with attempting to sabotage Malaysia's banking and financial services at five locations between June 28 and Aug 26 last year.

The locations were the office of the France Economic and Financial Crimes Division chief in Paris; Charing Cross police station, London, United Kingdom; office of the Switzerland Attorney-General in Bern; Wan Chai police station, Hongkong; and Cantonment police headquarters, Singapore.

Both faces up to 15 years' jail under Section 124L of the Penal Code, read together with Section 34, upon conviction.

On Nov 18, 2015, the High Court allowed Khairuddin and Chang to be released on bail of RM10,000 each in one surety and ordered them to surrender their passports to the court.

The two were released on bail after the High Court ruled that the charge they faced was not a security offence and it did not fall under SOSMA. Offences under SOSMA are non-bailable.