Photo: VOM USA
On February 13th, 2017, Pastor Raymond Koh was kidnapped in broad daylight. More than seven years later, his wife Susanna continues to search tirelessly for answers regarding her husband's disappearance. As part of this process, she filed a lawsuit in 2020 against the Malaysian government for negligence.
To show that Pastor Raymond's disappearance was being investigated, the government formed a task force to allegedly look into the incident. However, the government refused to release the results of the investigation, claiming that the files contained official secrets. The judge in Susanna's court case disagreed with these claims, and therefore ordered that a copy of the results be released to the missing pastor's wife. However, when Susanna received the report, the document was covered with watermarks that distorted the photographs and made much of the text unreadable.
Lawyers returned to the judge to request an unredacted copy. On September 25th, officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that they would comply and release the document without any obstructive watermarks. At last report, Susanna has received the unaltered version. Neither she nor her lawyers have commented on the contents.
One of the challenges concerning the missing pastor's case is that the report was composed by a task force of the government. The government also controls the special branch of police who had been monitoring Pastor Raymond prior to his disappearance. Susanna believes that these police officers were responsible for her husband's abduction. While addressing this situation, Todd Nettleton from the Voice of the Martyrs USA asked a pertinent question: "How much truth is going to be in this report?"
Susanna's lawsuit against the government remains ongoing. The next court hearing is scheduled to take place on October 21st. For more details on Pastor Raymond's case, see VOMC's series of report updates.
As this arduous court process continues to unfold, pray that the truth about Pastor Raymond's disappearance will be revealed. Prayerfully uphold Susanna and the rest of her family as they deal with this extended time of uncertainty, asking the Lord to sustain them with His abounding peace, love, strength and hope. In the midst of the many challenges facing Christians throughout Malaysia, may all those who have made the courageous decision to follow Jesus receive ongoing encouragement, fortitude and wisdom.
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