JUDGMENT
Faizah Jamaludin JCA:
Introduction
[1] This is the unanimous judgment of the Court.
[2] For more than seventeen years, the Appellant has been separated from her youngest child, Prasana Diksa. Prasana Diksa was 11 months old when she was taken by the Appellant's former husband, Patmanathan a/l Krishnan ("Patmanathan"), on 31 March 2009. A succession of orders made by the civil courts has not secured her return. The warrant of committal against Patmanathan remains unexecuted. He has not been apprehended, and Prasana Diksa has not been recovered.
[3] This case concerns more than the private grief of a mother. It concerns the authority of the courts, the binding force of their orders, and the duty of the police to execute lawful warrants issued by them. On 29 April 2016, the Federal Court settled the question of the police's statutory duty in this case under s 20(3)(f) of the Police Act 1967. It held that, on the facts and circumstances of this case, the Inspector General of Police ("IGP") could not refuse to command his officers to execute the warrant of committal against Patmanathan.
[4] The question in the present appeal is different. The Appellant now claims damages for the alleged wrongful non-performance by the IGP and the police of their respective statutory duties concerning the execution of the warrant. We must determine the content of those duties, what the evidence establishes as to their performance, and whether any proved omission probably prolonged the Appellant's separation from Prasana Diksa or caused any other loss for which damages are claimed.
[5] Those inquiries must be kept distinct. Deficiencies in the evidence concerning performance may justify criticism of the police response and may support a finding of non-performance. They do not, however, without more, establish that any such non-performance probably caused the loss claimed. Equally, a failure to prove causation neither establishes that the police response was satisfactory nor diminishes the continuing obligation of the police to execute the warrant of committal and give effect to lawful orders of the courts.