Jet engine theft accused N Tharmendran's application to strike out his case will be heard tomorrow after it was postponed this morning. 

Tharmendran's lawyers were informed of the new date late this afternoon by court officials.

Earlier today, High Court assistant registrar Rusita Md Lazim announced that trial judge Justice Su Geok Yiam had postponed the hearing to Jan 25.

NONERusita said this was because the judge was tied up with an old case that is fixed for trial over this month and is thus unable to preside over the habeas corpus application.

"She'll be hearing the resumption of an old case that is scheduled for a full trial, and we do not want to disturb her," Rusita said after setting the new date for Tharmendran's application.

Tharmendran's habeas corpus is now scheduled for a hearing on Jan 25 before Justice Mohamad Zabidin Md Diah.

Earlier this morning, there was some confusion surrounding the new date for the hearing of Tharmendran's application, which was initially set for this Wednesday before Justice Ghazali Cha.

 Both sides ready

Tharmendran's counsel for his habeas corpus application, Amer Hamzah Arshad, said the delay was disappointing as both sides were ready to go ahead.

"All parties, including the applicant and the respondent, are ready to proceed. Today was fixed for hearing... this is a habeas corpus where a person's liberty is at stake but instead of being expedited, it has been adjourned.

"This does not reflect what the CJ (chief justice Zaki Azmi) said, in terms of implementing improvements and expediting cases," he said when met outside the court.

NONEN Surendran (left), who is representing Tharmendran in his case proper, added that it was doubly disappointing for the father of the accused, N Nagarajah, who had to travel all the way from Seremban in the hope of securing his son's release from detention at the Armed Forces' Batu Cantonment Camp.

"We are disappointed with the way Tharmendran and his family are being dragged through the court system, all because he knows something that they (the authorities) don't want to come out.

"They tried beating him and that didn't work, so now they are detaining him one way after another, in a bid to weaken his will and eventually the public will never know what happened regarding the theft of the military equipment," he said.

On Jan 6, Tharmendran had pleaded not guilty at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court when charged with abetting senior airman Mohamad Shukri Mohamad Yusop in the theft of two RMAF F5 jet engines from the Sungai Besi air base's material processing shed.

He was released on RM50,000 bail on Sept 6 but was re-arrested by military police on Nov 25 on grounds that he had gone AWOL (absent without official leave).