Court dismisses complaint against police officers by Healing the Divide’s Iris Koh
A complaint filed against police officers by Iris Koh, founder of anti-vaccine group Healing the Divide, was dismissed by a Magistrate’s Court on Jan 9.
Koh, who was arrested in January 2021 for allegedly conspiring to cheat and submit falsified vaccination records to the Ministry of Health (MOH), had lodged a magistrate’s complaint against four police officers whom she claimed had mishandled personal items seized from her after her arrest.
A magistrate’s complaint is an application for a magistrate to examine an alleged criminal offence and give directions for further action.
On Nov 18, 2022, Koh complained that the items seized – her laptop, mobile phone and e-mail disk – had been stored in envelopes instead of being sealed in tamper-proof bags. She claimed that, as a result, the four officers, who were members of the forensic team, had breached protocol.
She also alleged that this would result in the chain of custody of evidence being compromised and thus be inadmissible in court.
Koh faces four charges, including making false representations to MOH over Covid-19 vaccinations and obstructing a policewoman from performing her duties.
Details of her complaint were published in grounds of decision by Senior Magistrate Hamzah Moosa in January.
According to Mr Hamzah, Koh was concerned that fraudulent evidence could have been planted in her electronic devices.
In his decision, Mr Hamzah said: “Her belief that the chain of custody of evidence seized during her arrest was compromised and no longer admissible in court are matters that are directly connected to and within the sole purview of the Trial Court.”
He said they should be dealt with by the judge during a trial instead.
In her complaint, Koh also alleged the four officers had failed to assist a member of the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) team.
On Nov 4, 2022, Koh asked one Mr Sivakumar from the AGC if the extraction of exact copies from her digital devices was ready. Mr Sivakumar said it was not ready but would be by Nov 7.
She said the four officers, who were present when she spoke to Mr Sivakumar, had remained silent and accused them of trying to mislead her with their silence and reticence.
Koh claimed the officers had committed an offence by providing false information to a public servant, in this case Mr Sivakumar, and omitting to assist him, citing Section 182 and 187(1) of the Penal Code.
On Nov 7, when Koh was provided the copies from her three devices, she wondered how they had come about, as the room where her devices were kept had been sealed each time she left the room.
She also realised that day that her devices were not sealed in tamper-proof bags, and she was concerned that “fraudulent evidence” could be planted in her devices.
In response, Mr Hamzah said Koh did not provide any credible evidence that the police officers had committed an offence under the Penal Code.
In dismissing her complaint, he said there was insufficient reason to proceed on it.
Mr Hamzah said he informed Koh she could lodge a complaint with the police or raise the matter with the AGC regarding her concerns or allegations of the possible misconduct of one or more of the four police officers.
Koh has filed an appeal against the Magistrate’s Court’s decision.
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