Update: questions raised over investigation into Pastor Raymond Koh’s abduction as court case nears verdict

The court case investigating the disappearance of Pastor Raymond Koh in Malaysia is nearing its conclusion. Please pray for truth and justice to prevail.

As the court case into the abduction of Pastor Raymond Koh continues to near a verdict, the cross-examination of the final witness from the Defence has highlighted several inconsistencies and issues.

Inspector Ahmad Marzuki took over the investigation into Pastor Raymond’s disappearance on 15 February 2019, two years after the incident happened. When asked if he had thoroughly reviewed the case file, he responded repeatedly that he ‘could not remember’ the contents, raising concerns about the diligence of his role. He also confirmed that there was no CCTV footage included in the file he received.

When asked what investigative actions he took besides attempting to locate Saiful Bahari (the prime suspect), Marzuki admitted, “No other investigation was carried out.” His only task was to update the investigation file for court purposes and attempt to locate Saiful Bahari – which strongly indicates that no active investigation was being pursued into Pastor Raymond’s disappearance.

Marzuki further testified that he was transferred to another department in 2022 and could not confirm who took over the case. He claimed he handed the file to the administration upon his transfer.

Notably, a contradiction emerged regarding the timeline of the case handover. According to DSP Supari’s witness statement, the file was handed over on 16 April 2018, when he was transferred to another department. However, Marzuki insisted he took over on 15 February 2019. Asked to clarify the gap, during which the case apparently had no investigating officer (IO), he denied this, but was unable to recall who was in charge during that period.

The cross-examination will continue on 8 July, when it is hoped that it will be the last hearing before the Judge’s decision. 

Please pray

• For wisdom and strength for the lawyers and judge
• For the protection of Susanna and her family, and for God’s unfailing peace to fill their hearts
• That truth and justice will prevail.

29 June 2025

Thank you for your continued prayers into the court case investigating the abduction of Pastor Raymond Koh in Malaysia. Over the past two days, the court heard from three witnesses for the Defence, the Malaysian government.

For wisdom and strength for the lawyers and judge

For the protection of Susanna and her family, and for God’s unsurpassing peace to fill their hearts

This included Deputy Superintendent of Police Supari Muhammad, who began giving evidence in the previous hearing. He said that the abduction couldn’t have been done by police officers because they would’ve been wearing their uniforms and there would be badges on the SUVs.

He said that the non-functioning CCTVs on the highways at the time of the incident was not a police issue but a state government one.

And when asked about the absence of roadblocks in their search for Pastor Raymond, DSP Supari explained that putting them in place puts victims of abduction at greater risk. “Roadblocks will alert the perpetrators that the police are onto them,” he said. “We work in ways to protect the victim.”

Before the court adjourned, an officer who has been searching for Saiful Bahari Abdul Aziz, a former Special Branch contact worker who is the prime suspect in the case, took to the stand briefly.

Saiful Bahari Abdul Aziz is the owner of the golden Toyota Vios seen at the scene by eyewitnesses at the abductions of both Pastor Raymond as well as Amri Che Mat, a social activist who disappeared in 2016. Saiful Bahari’s whereabouts remain unknown till this day.

The hearing continues on 3 June, with Susanna hoping that it will be the final session before the judge delivers a final verdict on the case. Please pray for truth and justice to prevail.

21 May 2025

The investigation into the abduction of Raymond Koh continues in Malaysia. The court dates are widely spread out, meaning that Koh’s wife Susanna has a protracted ordeal as she waits to see whether or not justice will be done.

Pastor Raymond Koh was taken in broad daylight on 13 February 2017. He has not been heard from since. The evidence suggests that he was abducted by the Malaysian authorities because of his Christian faith and his role as an evangelist.

Investigating Officer cross-examined

On 14 May, four witnesses were called relating to the disappearance of Amri Che Mat, which is being considered alongside Pastor Raymond’s disappearance. The following day, the Deputy Superintendent of Police Supari Muhammad was cross-examined in court. He is the Investigating Officer in Pastor Raymond’s case – when the incident happened, he was Assistant Superintendent of Police. He was also the officer who interrogated Susanna Koh and her children until 3am on the night of Pastor Raymond’s disappearance.

When asked if this was the act of the police, DSP Supari denied immediately, but he also said that this abduction couldn’t have been done by a regular person as they would need resources to accomplish the task. DSP Supari initially thanked the Koh family for their cooperation in finding the CCTV footage after he claimed his team had tried to attain it and failed, saying that residents in the area were either not at home or uncooperative with the police. When asked for records of interviews the officers made to the nearby residents, there were none.

In court, he thanked the Koh family for cooperating with the police, but he wrote in his earlier report, “From the get-go, the family was not cooperating with the police.” When questioned about this, he said the family refused to answer his questions regarding Pastor Raymond’s ‘Christianisation’ of the community. They had come to file a missing person’s report.

Please pray for Susanna Koh

At this point, Susanna Koh broke down, sitting in the public gallery of the courtroom. She later explained how painful it was to hear DSP Supari talk about the interrogation she endured on that night. “It was like I was re-living that night all over again,” said Susanna.

The cross-examination of DSP Supari took the full day, with further questions to be asked by the Plaintiff Lawyer. Please continue to pray for Susanna and her family as the trial continues, and for justice and answers to be delivered. The hearing continues on 27 May 2025.

27 September 2024

Susanna Koh receives altered report into husband’s disappearance as task force members are questioned

Many Open Doors supporters have prayed for years for Susanna Koh and her family – the wife and children of Pastor Raymond Koh, who was kidnapped in broad daylight on 13 February 2017. Susanna Koh has tirelessly sought to find out what happened to him, and filed a lawsuit against the Malaysian Government for negligence in the case. The court case continues.

In August, Susanna was to be given the Special Task Force (STF) report within three days of the request being made. However, the report was not produced as required, leading to a subsequent request for its submission on 13 September.

But the report that was initially given to Susanna had clearly been tampered with. Many pages contained blurred text and images, making them unreadable. Additionally, there were indications that the report had been altered, raising concerns about its authenticity.

As well as evidence of tampering, important content, including Exhibit 4 – CCTV video of Raymond’s abduction – were missing from the STF report. A formal request was made for the original STF report in its unaltered form. The defendant’s response was disappointing; they initially claimed the report was OSA (Official Secretariat Act) but couldn’t provide proper documentations to prove that it is.

Dato’ Jerald Gomez, Susanna’s lawyer, also mentioned that additional steps had been taken to issue subpoenas (a summons to court to compel witnesses to testify) to Datuk Abdul Rahim Uda, Chairman of the Special Task Force, and Datuk Zamri Bin Yahya from the Commission of Police. This was to ensure that they produce the original report and provide answers to relevant questions.

Justice Su Tiang Joo stated that ‘the issue now is that the report provided is not clear to move forward with cases’ and was told that the Senior Federal Council (SFC) would provide three ‘clean copies’ at the hearing the next day.

Praise God, Susanna and her team were given the correct reports!

Members of Special Task Force questioned

On 26 September, Datuk Zamri Yahya, a member of the Special Task Force (STF), gave his witness statement.

He stated: “To be honest, I cannot verify this is the original report of STF as I was away when the report [was] concluded as I was in the US. So, I was not around when the report was completed. There was a report produced by task force but before I left, I signed on the page that was required. The contents were discussed earlier.”

Zamri continued to answer most of the questions with the response, “I couldn’t recall any discussion regarding this, and this is my first time reading the Special Task Force report.”

When asked about the cases of Amri (Che Mat, a Shia Muslim who went missing around the same time as Pastor Raymond) and Raymond, who were both monitored by local authorities before their abduction, Zamri noted that there were similarities in their cases. He speculated that ‘rogue’ police officers could be involved in their disappearances.

“I cannot verify this is the final report”

He was also questioned about a claim in the report regarding Datuk Awaludin Jadid (former principal assistant director of the Special Branch’s Social Extremism Division), holding extreme views on Shia Muslims and Christians. Zamri stated he couldn’t commit to that finding as he didn’t see all the evidence before the report was finalised.

“Probably I was not shown or presented with all these (evidence) exhibits in the task force,” Zamri said. “I was involved since the beginning of the task force investigation, but toward the end I [wasn’t] there when it was signed, and I couldn’t recall seeing the exhibits in the report. I didn’t see the completed, bound report. I cannot verify that this is the final report as I was not there.”

In his witness statement, Zamri didn’t agree with some of the statements of the STF report findings, and this caused Susanna’s lawyer to call additional witnesses, including the chairman of the task force and officials from the Home Ministry, to clarify the situation.

The court will continue hearing the case on Monday 21 October 2024.

Please continue to pray for the lawyers, the judge and Susanna’s family for strength and protection, especially as the case now involves higher officials from the police department.

19 August 2024

Answer to prayer for Susanna Koh as report released about husband’s abduction

In an update from Susanna in May, she asked Open Doors supporters to pray for the release of a special task force report written about the incident – which had been classified as secret by the government. “I believe that there is no threat to national security if it is released to me and to the court in order to arrive at a fair decision,” said Susanna at the time, adding that she had applied for its release. She asked: “Pray for a positive outcome.”

God heard those prayers – and answered them! The court decided that there was no evidence provided that the report is an official secret, and that it could have a bearing on the case into Raymond Koh’s disappearance. As such, the court decreed the special task force report must be ‘limitlessly disclosed’ to Susanna Koh within three working days.

Susanna Koh is happy that finally the report will be available to her after years of waiting – which is hoped will reveal more about the defendants’ involvement with the abduction and the investigation. This is one step closer to the truth being revealed.

“Dear friends,” writes Susanna, to Open Doors supporters, “thank God for the favourable decision by the judge to release the special task force report to us without restrictions. God answered our prayers! Thank you for your partnership in prayers and support.”

Please continue to pray for the next court hearing on 22 August. Pray for the lawyers and also the witness who will be giving their statement in the next hearing.

4 June 2024

Susanna Koh cross-examined in husband Raymond’s abduction court case

It’s been more than seven years since Pastor Raymond Koh was abducted in broad daylight in Malaysia. Since he disappeared on 13 February 2017, his family – led by his wife, Susanna – have tirelessly sought answers. Susanna Koh filed a lawsuit against the Malaysian Government for negligence in the case, and the trial continues. In the most recent hearings, Susanna was cross-examined, after previously giving evidence.

Monday 27 May: “I want to thank God”

On this day, Susanna was cross-examined. She is not on trial herself but, as a witness for the prosecution, must also answer questions posed by the Senior Federal Counsel. Her family shared that she was very anxious as she entered the courtroom, but was able to answer every question presented to her carefully, calmly and truthfully.

“I want to thank God for being able to answer the questions without much fumbling and without many mistakes,” she shared, outside the courtroom. “My lawyer was able to correct any misunderstandings or wrong answers, so that was good.”

Still, the process was demanding and very tiring. “[By the end of the day] Susanna was so exhausted she couldn’t even read text she was asked to read,” stated a local source. “So, at 4.40pm, the court adjourned for the day.”

Outside the courtroom, Susanna thanked everyone who has supported and encouraged her family, including Open Doors supporters: “Thank you for all your prayers, God bless.”

She asked for continued prayers, as the family is seeking access to read a special task force report written about the incident. “This application has just been submitted to the high court. So, pray for a positive outcome,” she says in the video, above.

SUHAKAM (Human Rights Commission Malaysia) and several other NGOs have also called for the release of the task force report, so far without success; the report has been classified as secret by the government. “I believe that there is no threat to national security if it is released to me and to the court in order to arrive at a fair decision,” Susanna said to a local journalist. “At most, the report will reveal whether the defendants were involved in the abduction or were negligent in their investigation.”

Tuesday 28 May: witness speaks on similar case

Susanna finished her cross-examination and re-examination, and is released as a witness for the time being. The next witness in the case is Mrs Norhayati, the wife of Amri Che Mat who disappeared in November 2016, in the same manner as Pastor Raymond.

The Senior Federal Counsel had objected to Mrs Norhayati appearing as a witness, because the case is about Raymond Koh and not Amri Che Mat, but the court deemed that the similarities between the cases made Mrs Norhayati’s evidence relevant, and that it aligns with SUHAKAM’s (Human Rights Commission Malaysia) findings, allowing for a continuation of questioning. Notably, both victims’ cars had broken windscreens, and a significant piece of evidence linking the abductions is the presence of the same Golden Toyota Vios at both scenes.

Both Raymond Koh and Amri Che Mat were associated with charitable organisations – Harapan Community (Hope Community) and Perlis Hope, respectively. Amri Che Mat is a practising Shia Muslim; in Malaysia, Muslims are predominantly of the Sunni sect and there is a ban on Shia Islam.

Wednesday 29 May – Thursday 30 May: questioning continues

Having given her witness statement on the previous day, Mrs Norhayati was cross-examined by the Senior Federal Counsel. During re-examination, her attorney asked for a postponement due to Mrs Norhayati’s exhaustion meaning she couldn’t properly answer the questions posed to her. The trial will continue on 4 June. It has already taken many months, with long intervals between court appearances.

• Update on the trial examining Pastor Raymond’s abduction, from December 2023

Please continue to pray for this case and every person involved. Pray for justice. Susanna Koh and others involved in the case believe it is likely to be a very long time before the court decides its outcome, and your prayers can help sustain Susanna and her family as they go through this emotionally and physically draining process.