Jamal turns fugitive out of ignorance, says lawyer

PETALING JAYA: Umno Sungai Besar chief Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos has been urged by his lawyer to surrender to the police and assist in the completion of an ongoing bail proceeding.
Jamal's disappearance from his hospital ward yesterday was unintentional and could be due to unfamiliarity with the out of court bail proceedings, according to his lawyer Datuk Mohd Imran Tamrin said.
"On May 25, while we (the legal team) were assisting the bail process for Datuk Seri Jamal over charges which were read to him at the hospital in the morning, we realised that he had left the ward before it was completed,” he said in a statement today.
"We failed to locate him to complete the process yesterday (May 25) afternoon.”
Mohd Imran added that he was brought to the Ampang Jaya police headquarters to assist the police in locating and completing the bail process.
"After nearly 10 hours, we were then allowed to leave. I urge all to help us and the police to locate him in order to complete the process.
"I believe that there might be some 'miscommunication' between us and him about the process as this is the first time he has been charged outside the courts.
"I also believe that there was no intention to commit any crime, including running away from custody. I worry that he might have been under some trauma or felt pressured as this is a new situation for him," he added.
Jamal was said to have fled police custody after he was reported missing yesterday from a hospital where he as being remanded.
This came just hours after he was charged at the Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital in Kuala Lumpur for causing public nuisance last year, and where he was to be served with two other bail orders for trespassing.
Selangor CID chief SAC Fadzil Ahmat said the Sungai Besar Umno division chief left the hospital compound, where he was receiving treatment for back pain, just as court officials were about to bail him.
“While the bail documentations were being processed, Jamal had left the hospital building. He will be contacted again to complete the said documentation,” he said in a statement yesterday.