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‘Boot camp’ judge goes on long leave |
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Monday, 25 August 2008 08:30am |
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 ©The
Star (Used by permission)
by Muguntan Vanar
KOTA KINABALU: Justice Datuk Ian H.C. Chin (pic), the judge embroiled in a
judicial “boot camp” controversy with former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad,
has taken long leave and court officials believe he is preparing for optional
retirement.
The 61-year-old Kota Kinabalu High Court judge began his leave on Thursday but
no confirmation was available if he was calling it a day or if he had submitted
his optional retirement papers.
Legal officials said yesterday that Justice Chin, who packed up many things in
his office at the court building here before going on leave, has also informed
them to postpone his cases to next year.
They said the Internet-savvy judge had also shutdown his
www.kkhighcourt.com website, where
he was among the few to post case proceedings and judgments after a trial.
A check showed that the website was not available from Friday.
Neither the Sandakan-born Justice Chin nor Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan
Sri Richard Malanjun could be reached for comments.
In June, Justice Chin burst into the media limelight when he made an explosive
judicial revelation during an election petition hearing in Sarawak by accusing
Dr Mahathir of sending selected judges to boot camps to ensure that they got the
message that they must decisions favourable to the administration.
Dr Mahathir lashed back at Justice Chin in his Chedet blog and denied the
allegation that he sent judges to boot camp, with Dr Mahahtir’s ex-aide Matthias
Chang even calling for the judge’s sacking.
Sabah lawyers said they had been hearing about Justice Chin’s intention to go on
optional retirement since early this month but could obtain no confirmation as
he was a judge who kept things to himself.
They said that if Justice Chin quit the judicial service, where he could remain
till the official retirement age of 66, it would be a big loss to the judiciary
because he was well-respected and seen as a no-nonsense judge in court.
Justice Chin, who is among the more senior of some 50 High Court judges in the
country, began his career as a lawyer in the early 1970s and unsuccessfully
contested as a Berjaya party candidate twice in the elections. He was later
appointed Judicial Commissioner and rose to be High Court judge in early 1990s.
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