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© New Straits Times (Used by permission)

KUALA LUMPUR: Lawyer Datuk Muhammad Shafee Abdullah has come under fire for questioning a magistrate’s decision in the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case.

Veteran lawyer Karpal Singh called for disciplinary action against Shafee.

Karpal said whatever transpired in chambers should not be discussed openly by any lawyer.

"Shafee not only discussed it but also questioned the magistrate’s decision."

Shafee on Sunday slammed the police for seeking an extension on the remand order against his client, a political analyst detained over Altantuya’s murder.

Police had initially asked for a nine-day extension to further question the analyst but magistrate Manira Mohd Nor granted a two-day extension in addition to the five-day initial remand order, which expired on Sunday.

Karpal said it was gross misconduct on the part of Shafee to question the decision.

"The Bar Council should take action against him," he said at the Parliament lobby yesterday.

The Bukit Gelugor MP also moved a motion to debate Shafee’s public statement on the decision reached in chambers, adding that in issuing the ultimatum to either charge or release his client, Shafee had acted like a prosecutor.

Karpal said the police should not be intimidated by the statements issued by Shafee while investigations were in progress.

"Shafee has no legal right to expose publicly what is said in chambers by a judicial officer. This is against the legal profession and etiquette rules by which counsel are bound and constitutes a disciplinary offence.

"It could well amount to intimidation of a legal officer in the discharge of his legal duties."

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