MCO: All open court trials, hearing postponed until Jan 26

KUALA LUMPUR: All trials and hearings of criminal cases in open court initially scheduled for today until Jan 26 have been postponed following the re-implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the spread of COVID-19.

A statement from the Federal Court Chief Registrar's Office yesterday said that the new dates for the trials or hearings would be announced later.

"In urgent cases, the approval of the Chief Judge of Malaya or the Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak is required prior to holding the trials or hearings of the cases in open court," the statement read.

Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in his special announcement on Monday said that the MCO will be imposed in Penang, Selangor, Melaka, Johor and Sabah as well as the three Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan) for two weeks starting today.

Meanwhile, the statement said that for proceedings for criminal cases at all levels of court (Federal, Appeals, High, Sessions and Magistrate's), the case management would be held via video conferences and emails.

It also said that the trial or hearing of civil cases across the country will also be held using long-distance communication technology.

"For registration of new cases, the investigating officer is required to inform the court beforehand for preparation purposes and the date of mention should be fixed after the lifting of the MCO," it said.

The statement said applications for remand order under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and under the Immigration Act 1959/1963 will be done as scheduled, while applications for remand extension under Section 259 of the CPC will be done using long-distance communication technology.

"For bailable offences, the State Court Director should ensure that the bail transaction could be processed as usual and the use of e-bail is encouraged," it added.

-- BERNAMA