SENTAPPPP!!

Salam kenkawan and selamat sejahtera


Last two weeks Mokcik was on leave for 3 days. On wednesday, 14 March at around 5 pm while on the way back to putrajaya, Mokcik received a call.


"Hello.."

"Hello puan. Puan, esok puan ada kes tak?"

"Tak ada. Kenapa?"
"Esok boleh tak puan datang beri sokongan moral kat saya?"
"Kenapa? Ada masalah?"

"Esok A dengan B tak ada. Hakim arahkan kita berhujah tentang bla bla bla.."

" Habis tu?"

"itulah takut Hakim tu tak percaya kat saya. Minta tolong puan hujah."

"Boleh, tapi awak sediakanlah hujah dan otoritinya. But why? As if it will make a difference if i submit and u submit"

"Hujah dah siap puan, tinggal nak minta tolong puan submit jer."

"Ok."

Around 9.55 pm,  masa kat Karak, Mokcik received a call from A.


"Hello."

"Hello puan. C bagi tahu saya puan yang akan submit esok?"

"Yeaahh... where will be both of u (A and B)?"

"saya cuti esok puan."

"Well.. kes ini saya tak tahu hujung pangkalnya. Kalau nak saya berlakon utk sampaikan hujahan, saya ok. dengan syarat hujahan dah siap lah. C kata dia dah siapkan."

"Bila dia siapkan hujahan?"

"Entah..all i know is that he told me just now 'hujahan dah siap'"

"Camni lah, saya rasa untuk isu ini puan hujahkan macam ni ..bla bla bla" 

Mokcik menadah telinga jer la..dalam kereta, dgn Hadi dok kat riba mokcik..camno nak ambil nota kan.. kan ..kan..

Anyway, nak kata Mokcik ni terror sangat, takde la.. setakat berani nak berlakon masa nak sampaikan hujahan tu, boleh la. Tapi, ada syaratnya. kenalah sediakan point2 untuk Mokcik sampaikan. 

Esok paginya, awal2 pagi lagi mokcik bertolak ke Jalan Duta.  Mokcik memang pergi dengan sehelai sepinggang jer. Sebab, kes tersebut memang Mokcik tak terlibat langsung dari awal penyediaannya hingga ke perbicaraannya. Namun, atas nama kawan dan juga semangat berpasukan, Mokcik boleh bertolak ansur. Masuk2 je dalam court room, Mokcik nampak C sedang menghadap laptop.

"Hah..mana hujahannya?" 

"Saya tengah buat puan."

"Kata semalam dah siap."

"Semalam tak sempat buat puan, semua orang dah pengsan (penat). Saya dapat dua kes. Ini pun lepas telefon DPP."

Dia pun tunjukkan beberapa kes. Dalam bentuk loose copy. Tiada apa-apa tandaan di mana muka surat mahu di rujuk.


"macammana nak apply kes ni?"

"hah puan tengok sini..yang ini..bla bla bla.. hah puan baca lah. Saya nak ambil robe dan jaket puan dalam kereta."

Mokcik menjenguk ke laptop yang dihadapnya tadi. Terdapat lima baris ayat sahaja pada skrin laptop. LIMA baris sahaja wokayyy..

Mokcik sudah mula merasa tidak sedap hati.

Kes akan bermula jam 9.30 pagi. Ni dah nak masuk jam 9. Takkan baru lima baris ayat? Semalam bukan main lagi kata, hujahan sudah siap.

seakan memahami, Mokcik menerima mesej daripada A. A memberikan beberapa pointer untuk dihujahkan. Tak lama kemudian C masuk.

"Mana Rules of the High Court, Akta Keterangan dan Akta Rahsia Rasmi?"

"Ntahlah, buku2 saya semua tak tahu mana dorang letak. Saya dah suruh dorang susun elok2 dalam kotak."

Mokcik menarik nafas panjang. Mokcik duduk kat kerusi  dan mula membaca kes-kes yang ditunjukkan sebentar tadi.

9.30 pagi, kes dipanggil dalam kamar. 


Now, it has been the norm in court, no matter how many times you have appeared before the same judge, to always introduce the counsels present for the day. 

Bagi rakan sejawat, hendaklah diperkenalkan mengikut jawatannya misalnya.. 


"Saya, Ahmad bin Ali, peguam kanan persekutuan hadir bersama Nora binti Ismail, Peguam kanan Persekutuan bagi pihak plaintif dan rakan-rakan bijaksana saya Karim bin Jalil bersama Rahmat bin Seman bagi pihak Defendan-Defendan."

So, i was shock when C introduced me to the Judge as, "My boss"... What the hell is going on here.. I was starting to smell something..

When the case was about to start, the Judge was asking about some of the documents which our side wanted to tender as evidence. Naturally the other side are objecting to this. Mind you, this was the first time i was involved in this case. and i came on the request by C, 'to give moral support'.  

The Judge asked who is going to submit on the issue and C pointed to me!! 

Luckily, with the pointers given by A and  by using all the acting and advocacy skills that i have gathered all these years, i managed to persuade the judge to at least let the issue be opened for further arguments. 

all the while C was just sitting there, not even contributing any ideas or pointers to help me in my argument.

Ok..Mokcik..tarik nafas dalam2...sabar..sabar..

Fine.. one hurdle is over, for the time being... So, C started to call his  next witness. He didn't even give me a copy of the witness statement. So, i just kept quiet and listen to  his examination in chief and the witness giving evidence. After C finished asking question, suddenly he asked me, "Puan ada apa-apa nak soal?" . 

Apa cer?? Ini kali pertama Mokcik melihat saksi tersebut dan tak pernah bertemubual dengannya sebelum ini, tiba-tiba Mokcik nak menyoal dia?? Nak cari penyakit ker apa??

Ok.. tak habis lagi. Mokcik geleng kepala. Selepas itu giliran peguam pulak menyoal balas saksi.

"Puan, saya nak duduk kat belakang. Nak tengok loyer ni buat soalan bodoh" 

Ok, up to you, mokcik berkata dalam hati.

During Cross examination, we will normally take notes of the question and answer and immediately put a big star and preferably write the question that we would  want the witness to clarify later. This can only be done if the file officer him or herself jot down the notes.  Unless you are a very very very experienced lawyer and you know the case inside out, then perhaps you can cross examine or re-examine a witness  without rreferring to the notes.   Even though i am not familiar with the facts of the case and i dont know what my learned friend C strategies are, i automatically started to take notes and write down questions that might need further clarification later.

At the same time, i was secretly planning my escape route! 

The other side finished his cross examination at 1.19 pm. The Judge asked whose going to do the re -examination. I immediately pin point to C. C who was sitting at the back stammered and told the Judge, " I will need to discuss the question with my boss". The moment i heard the word "my boss", i bite my lips. No one in their right mind would address your colleague as 'my boss' in court. Even if it is true. Even the most junior officer  understood this. 

The judge insisted on everybody to come back at 2.15 pm. 

During lunch, i ate quietly while perusing the notes i have taken during cross examination. I overheard C telling the witnesses, " Kita bagi otai buat re-examination". 

 Upon reaching the courtroom, i took my robe and told C, "Am going back to the office."

"Puan, janganlah tinggalkan saya."

"I  need to see our boss about  some urgent matter. Anyway, am not that familiar with this case, but perhaps u should re-examine this witness on these issues... bla bla bla... ok good luck."

Kawan-kawan lain yang dah terkena dengan cara dia mungkin tak sampai hati nak tinggalkan dia. Tapi, bagi mokcik, dia terlupa satu perkara. Mokcik mungkin kawan dia, tapi Mokcik juga Ketua Unit dia.. You ask for my help, i can give it. Tapi tidak bermakna kamu boleh melepaskan tanggungjawab kamu sepenuhnya kepada orang lain... 

Actually, memang mokcik sentap sangat sangat dengan cara C.. ini sudah namanya nak mendajalkan kawan sendiri. He has forgotten one thing, though.  I would not let anyone make a fool of myself and i dont intend to make myself look like a fool.  

When i told A what happened then only he confessed that they too have been a victim.

"Kami dah beberapa kali terkangkang, termalu dalam court puan.. tapi walaupun hati saya sakit, saya tak sampai hati pulak nak tinggalkan dia."

"Maknanya kamu lebih baik lagi la.. I tak peduli tadi. I terus tinggalkan dia. He is the file officer, and he has no excuse for treating his friends like this."   

Anyway, this happened last two weeks. C had come seeking advice from me about the case later. Memang mokcik basuh dia betul2.. we are all his friends and we are willing to help him, but he has no excuse for treating us like he did. it was his fault that he was not well prepared for the case.. in this kind of case, one must be well prepared to able handle the pressure  from the other side.One must be prepared to anticipate the issues that may arise in the course of trial. 


Just last week, we got news that C got an offer for promotion. He is going to move on to a different department. When he told me about it, i told him, it is about time to move on to new things as he always had been complaining about being 'burnt out'. Though we are going to miss him, (we cant deny the fact that he has always been a good officer   all these while, with the exceptions of this particular case ), i think it is in his best interest that he took the offer. it is a promotion after all and at least he have a chance to 'rest' for a while from doing litigation work which he have been doing for the past five years.

Itu la kisah kes Sentap Mokcik untuk kali ini.. sekian. terima kasih.