Keluarga pemilik pub gagal rayu penolakan saman berkait kematiannya

In a recent ruling, the Federal Court decided that there was no constitutional issue in the case brought by the family of K Gobala Guru, a pub owner, against the police and the government for his alleged violation of the law. Judges Ahmad Terrirudin Salleh and Collin Lawrence Sequerah, in a majority decision, concluded that the family of Gobala failed to meet the legal requirements that would allow the matter to be further considered by the country's highest court.

"There is no constitutional issue involved," said Terrirudin. Judge Che Ruzima Ghazali disagreed with the majority decision. The court did not issue any orders regarding costs. The family had previously raised three legal issues regarding the timing of the appeal. Gobala was shot twice by police officer Amran Sali on 2 Feb 2013.

Amran was accompanied by police officers Khairul Hafiz Yaacob, Azlan Abdul Kadir, Khairon Zaidee Basiron, and Zulfadli Dom, who chased Gobala from a petrol station before surrounding him at a convenience store in Kuala Lumpur. Amran was later charged with shooting Gobala before his body was taken down the hill. Gobala's body was never found.

Khairul, Azlan, Khairon, and Amran were later tried in Sessions Court two years later for unlawfully restraining someone under Section 365 of the Criminal Offences Act. However, Khairon died before the trial began, while Zulfadli gave testimony against the other three defendants. The Sessions Court found them guilty in 2018 and sentenced them to seven years in prison.

However, the High Court acquitted them in 2019. Gobala's wife, V Satiavani, and his mother, V Panjalai, filed a civil suit against the government and the police three years ago due to his death. The High Court dismissed their civil action in 2024 after deciding that the suit was filed outside the allowed time frame. The court stated that the family should have initiated the legal proceedings in 2016.

The decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal on 9 Mar. Gobala's lawyers K Gobinath and Dalveena Korotana represented the family, while Attorney-General Liew Horng Bin and Siti Syakimah Ibrahim represented the police and the government.