PAS alleges 'unethical' lawyer enjoying 'immunity'

KOTA KINABALU: Batu Sapi PAS Division Head Hamzah Abdullah claims a non-Sabahan senior lawyer allegedly involved in unethical practices is enjoying "immunity" from disciplinary action by the Advocates Inquiry Committee. Hamzah, a former Batu Sapi Parliamentary candidate, said he was amazed with how the senior lawyer could be let off the hook despite numerous reports made by his clients who were initially treated as friends but later as foes after obtaining hundreds of thousands of ringgit in "professional and legal fees".

"There were reports lodged by victims of this 'shrewd' lawyer to the Advocates Inquiry Committee of Sabah Law Association. But the Committee appeared to be complacent with the written explanation by this lawyer and there was no proper hearing to enable the complainant's grievances be heard by the Committee," he claimed in a statement, Thursday.

"There were also several police reports against this lawyer for misappropriation of clients' money in a number of cases undertaken by this lawyer," he said, adding that misappropriation of clients' money or CBT by a lawyer is punishable under Section 409 of the Penal Code.

He cited a lawyer who was charged under this Section in the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur for misappropriation of client's money amounting to rm426,800 on Oct 18, 2007.

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"Since court cases taken by this lawyer on the instruction either by a lawful PA holder or by the interested individuals themselves ended with 'consent judgment' where certain amount of damages were agreed upon by both the plaintiffs and the defendants, the clients of this lawyer will most of the time never know when they will get the damages paid by the defendants because payment were made by cheque payable to the lawyer.

Hamzah said this was where the whole mess started and it ended up with the lawyer yelling and chasing his clients from his office, and whole amount of money were kept for his own use.

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