Enforced Disappearance must be CRIMINALISED - sadly, even in Malaysia, this crime has yet to investigated, and those criminally liable, be it police officers or even their 'bosses' ought to be charged and tried for this offence..
“Justice for the Disappeared: What the Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat Decision Means for Human Rights in Malaysia”- Mohd Hishamudin Md Yunus(SUHAKAM Chair) - a good read..
HRD Thuzar Maung and 4 family members - a case of ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE? Diligent serious investigation needed by Malaysia - MS by MADPET
Pamela Ling - where is she?
"You have hunted her, you have watched her every step, you have refused to let her leave this country on the pretext of investigation – the day she disappears you go silent," her family's lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo told Bloomberg. "The change in the behaviour of the MACC, going from hunting her to not caring whether she is around, also needs to be explained."...Three months have passed, but Ling's mysterious disappearance has not sparked the kind of outrage from politicians who had pressured authorities over similar cases in the past, such as the 2009 death of DAP official Teoh Beng Hock hours after he was summoned for questioning, as well as the mysterious abduction of Pastor Raymond Koh and several social and religious activists. -Malaysia Now, 31/7/2025
15 December 2025. On the 13-year anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned civil society organizations and individuals worldwide, urge once again United Nations (UN) member states and Laos’ development and international cooperation partners to demand the Lao government promptly resolve Sombath’s enforced disappearance and deliver justice and an effective remedy and reparations to him and his family.
We deplore this silence over Sombath’s enforced disappearance, as it is likely to continue to facilitate the Lao authorities in their determination to shield the perpetrators of such a serious crime from accountability.
We note that various individuals who occupied high-ranking positions in the government when Sombath disappeared retain important official roles in the country’s political sphere today. These individuals could and should play a proactive role in clarifying Sombath’s fate and achieving truth and justice.
For example, Thongloun Sisoulith, who served as Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of Laos at the time of Sombath’s enforced disappearance, is now the country’s President and the General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party – effectively, the supreme leader of Laos. Chaleun Yiapaoher, then-Minister of Justice, is now one of the National Assembly’s Vice-Presidents. Thongsing Thammavong, then-Prime Minister, is currently a National Assembly member. These and other influential individuals hold the key to resolve Sombath’s enforced disappearance - a case that has been described by the International Commission of Jurists as “eminently solvable.”
UN member states and Laos’ development and international cooperation partners should press the government to establish the fate or whereabouts of Sombath and all other victims of enforced disappearances in the country, identify the suspected perpetrators of such serious crimes, and provide victims with an effective remedy and full reparations. To date, no case of enforced disappearance in Laos has been resolved and no perpetrators have been identified or brought to justice.
In its September 2025 report, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances emphasized that the disappearance of community leaders such as Sombath resulted in a collective impact on the groups to which they belonged, including by weakening community ties, depriving them of leadership, and increasing their vulnerability to “cultural erosion and environmental exploitation.” The Working Group further stated that Sombath’s disappearance created a chilling effect on public participation, noting reports of “serious risks and fear” of retaliation when his name is mentioned.
We urge the Lao government to promptly ratify, without reservations, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which it signed in September 2008, and fully implement it into national law, policies, and practices.
We continue to stand in solidarity with Sombath and his family and urge UN member states to support our calls for truth, justice, and accountability for all cases of victims of enforced disappearance in Laos.
Even if 13 years have passed, the Lao government is obligated to answer the question we and many others have been asking since 15 December 2012: “Where is Sombath”?
Background
Sombath Somphone, a pioneer in community-based development and youth empowerment, was last seen at a police checkpoint on a busy street in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on the evening of 15 December 2012. Footage from a traffic CCTV camera showed that police stopped Sombath’s vehicle at the checkpoint and that, within minutes, unknown individuals forced him into another vehicle and drove him away in the presence of police officers. CCTV footage also showed an unknown individual arriving and driving Sombath’s vehicle away from the city center. In December 2015, Sombath’s family obtained new CCTV footage from the same area and made it public. The video shows Sombath’s car being driven back towards the city by an unknown individual.
For further information, please visit: https://www.sombath.org/
Organizations:
1. Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)
2. Amnesty International
3. Asia Democracy Network
4. Asia Human Rights & Labour Advocates (AHRLA)
5. Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD)
6. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
7. Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)
8. Center for Prisoners' Rights
9. Commission for Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
10. Day of the Endangered Lawyer
11. Defence of Human Rights
12. Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND)
13. Focus on the Global South
14. Fortify Rights
15. Fresh Eyes, UK
16. Human Rights Watch
17. International Coalition Against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED)
18. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
19. International Federation for human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
20. International Organising Committee of the Asia Europe People's Forum
21. Lao Movement for Human Rights
22. League for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran (LDDHI)
23. MADPET (Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture)
24. Maldivian Democracy Network
25. Manushya Foundation
26. Mekong Watch
27. People’s Watch
28. Thai Lawyers for Human Rights
29. Transitional Justice Working Group
30. Vietnam Committee on Human Rights
31. WH4C (Workers Hub For Change)
32. World Organisation against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Individuals:
1. Shui Meng and Sombath Somphone’s family
2. Andy Rutherford
3. Anne Sophie Gindroz
4. Barbara Williams
5. David JH Blake
6. Kasit Piromya
7. Keith Barney
8. Lara Patriarca
9. Libby Blake
10. Linda Gehman Peachey
11. Murray Hiebert
12. Philip Alston
13. Randall Arnst
14. Rini Astuti
15. Rishabh Ghotge
16. S.Y. Chin
17. San Yuenwah
18. Sibilla Patriarca
19. Sriprapha Petcharamesree
20. Titus Peachey
21. Vitit Muntarbhorn
22. Walden Bello
Source: OMCT Website
3 months after Pamela Ling vanished, Bloomberg report casts disturbing questions on Azam-led MACC
Chief among them is that despite calling her a 'flight risk', MACC did not pursue her when she failed to turn up on April 9.
A new report by Bloomberg on the abduction of a witness extradited from abroad by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) raises questions about the fact that the anti-graft commission did not seek an arrest warrant even after she failed to turn up for questioning on the fateful day.
The report also touched on the question of why Pamela Ling's appointment with MACC scheduled on April 10 was brought forward to April 9, when her e-hailing vehicle was surrounded by a group of individuals in police gear just 10 minutes before her arrival at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.
Family members say it "doesn’t make any sense" that MACC did not seek a warrant for Ling's arrest after she went missing, especially when she had been arrested before and slapped with a travel ban.
"You have hunted her, you have watched her every step, you have refused to let her leave this country on the pretext of investigation – the day she disappears you go silent," her family's lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo told Bloomberg.
"The change in the behaviour of the MACC, going from hunting her to not caring whether she is around, also needs to be explained."
According
to Bloomberg, MACC claimed Ling had been asked to come a day early in
order for it to investigate her application for a second passport.
The report comes at a time when MACC under its chief commissioner Azam Baki has come under fire for launching a series of politically-charged investigations into enemies of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, which was the subject of an explosive report by Bloomberg last year.
Ling, 42, is the former wife of Sarawak tycoon Hah Tiing Siu. Both have been through a controversial divorce in Singapore and Malaysia involving a substantial fortune.
MACC said it had launched an investigation into graft and money laundering offences involving the couple, adding that Ling had not co-operated. However, in a lawsuit filed two days before her abduction, Ling claimed that MACC was using anti-money laundering law to pressure her to resolve her disputes with her ex-husband.
Among others, she stated that Hah was present during one session she was interrogated by MACC. She also named one Muslimin Chia Abdullah from MACC who "urged them to settle matters so the case could be dropped", said the Bloomberg report.
Three months have passed, but Ling's mysterious disappearance has not sparked the kind of outrage from politicians who had pressured authorities over similar cases in the past, such as the 2009 death of DAP official Teoh Beng Hock hours after he was summoned for questioning, as well as the mysterious abduction of Pastor Raymond Koh and several social and religious activists.
The government at the time had carried an official inquest, and in the case of Teoh, a royal commission of enquiry, although they failed to specifically conclude what transpired or identify the culprits.
What is chilling is that Ling's abduction took place on a busy stretch of highway leading to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.
It is reminiscent of how Koh was similarly kidnapped in broad daylight in 2017 by a group of men who stopped his vehicle in Petaling Jaya.
Suspicions of foul play were further fuelled after a Grab driver stepped forward and narrated how Ling was forcibly taken away.
"There were two men and one woman. One man and the woman were wearing uniforms resembling police attire, and the other man wore a vest labelled 'police'. They approached me and said that my passenger was being detained to assist with an investigation based on a police report," he reportedly said, adding that he was ordered to press the "complete trip" button on the e-hailing app.
Added to this are parts of Ling's divorce affidavits containing serious allegations against her ex-husband Hah.
"He said he had 'connections to organised crime and gang leaders in Malaysia, as well as people in powerful positions'," Bloomberg quoted one of the court filings.
Hah did not answer Bloomberg's queries. His lawyer Selva Mookiah also did not respond to questions about the couple's divorce and Hah’s dealings with MACC.
Azam under scrutiny
In its report today, Bloomberg said Ling's "disappearance has increased scrutiny of the MACC" and its chief Azam, whose tenure was "repeatedly extended by Anwar in a break from past precedent".
Azam's handling of Ling's disappearance has come under scrutiny after he reportedly claimed that MACC "never called her with the intent to arrest her".
Sangeet slammed his statement as "patently false" and reminded that MACC had arrested Ling and extradited her to Malaysia.
"For the chief commissioner to deny a matter already in the public record was alarming. It suggests not only indifference but an absence of fear of accountability," she had said last May.
Azam was at the centre of an explosive report by Bloomberg in September last year, in which three informed sources were quoted as saying that he had told his officers that investigations into Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the late Daim Zainuddin were launched on Anwar's instructions.
The sources also claimed that Anwar had told Azam not to investigate his former political secretary Farhash Wafa Salvador over the controversial purchase of shares in a company linked to the development of a new billion-ringgit immigration system.
Despite a police report calling for Anwar to be investigated for abuse of power, authorities have classified the case as "no further action". - Malaysia Now,. 31/7/2025
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