Ex-religious teacher nabbed after 7 years

[youallhumsup]

Ex-religious teacher nabbed after 7 years
Man fled after 2004 conviction for drug offences; said to have been arrested in KL

Published on Aug 19, 2011

After Muhamad fled in 2004, the $120,000 bail put up by his wife was forfeited. -- BERITA HARIAN FILE PHOTO

By Khushwant Singh

A former honorary secretary of the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association (Pergas) who went into hiding after he was found guilty of drug offences has been arrested after seven years on the run.

It is not known when and where Muhamad Mohamad Ishak, 44, was nabbed, but he was produced in a district court yesterday.

It is understood that he was arrested on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur and handed over to the Singapore police.

His case will be mentioned again in about two weeks.

Muhamad, also a former uztaz or religious teacher, went into hiding in 2004, after his conviction for conspiring to smuggle in 5.64g of cannabis and for taking the drug here.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.

 

[youallhumsup]

Life on the run for former religious teacher
By Shaffiq Alkhatib | Posted: 02 September 2011 1658 hrs

SINGAPORE: A former Islamic religious teacher, who had been on the run for seven years for drug offences, claimed he had been a victim of violent crimes while abroad.

During his bail application in the Subordinate Courts on Friday, Muhamad Mohamad Ishak, 44, claimed he had been assaulted and kidnapped in Indonesia and Malaysia.

His application was rejected and he will be back in court on September 26.

The former honorary secretary of the Singapore Islamic Scholars and Religious Teachers Association was arrested by Malaysian police in Kuala Lumpur last month.

Muhamad's lawyer, Shashi Nathan, told the court his client had absconded in 2004 in a moment of folly.

Mr Nathan said Muhamad first fled to Indonesia where he claimed he was assaulted by people who tried to extort money from him after discovering his identity.

He claimed he had lost some of his hearing in one of his ears.

Mr Nathan added that Muhamad later fled to Malaysia where he was allegedly kidnapped by rogue senior police officers who allegedly tried to demand a ransom from Muhamad's family.

Mr Nathan said the policemen were arrested and investigations were ongoing.

He urged District Judge Roy Neighbour to grant Muhamad bail so he could spend time with his aged parents.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Terence Chua said there was no way to confirm or dispute Muhamad's claims.

He stressed that Muhamad did not surrender to the authorities but had been arrested.

Mr Chua argued that had Muhamad not absconded, he could have been a free man a long time ago.

Judge Neighbour agreed with the prosecution and turned down the application.

On May 6, 2004, Muhamad was convicted of abetting his then-business partner to import cannabis from Malaysia into Singapore in 2003.

He was also convicted of consuming the drug.

Muhamad was out on S$120,000 bail and was supposed to return to court for his mitigation and sentencing when he disappeared.

His accomplice was jailed a year in December 2003.

- CNA/fa