Taib Mahmud allegedly abducted from a hospital by his wife.
Police have received a report regarding how former Sarawak Yang di-Pertua Negeri, Tun Abdul Taib Mahmud, was taken out of a private hospital, where he was being warded, late last night.
Sarawak police commissioner, Datuk Mancha Ata, said the incident is being probed under Section 336 of the Penal Code, under negligence which could endanger the lives of others.
The police report, supposedly lodged by a doctor at the private hospital, went viral today.
In the report filed almost 2am on Sunday, the complainant claimed that Toh Puan Raghad Kurdi Taib removed her husband “despite being advised to have the patient stay in the hospital for proper and adequate treatment”.
The report alleged that he was brought down in a wheelchair by Raghad’s butler and bodyguards and carried into a vehicle at the hospital’s main entrance.
According to the report, the hospital also has a copy of a letter from a law firm to Raghad instructing her to notify the firm if Taib was to be discharged.
Among those sharing a copy of the police report on social media was Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Sarawak deputy women’s chief Zulhaidah Suboh.
In her post she called for all Sarawakians, despite differing political beliefs, to unite and prevent Raghad from leaving the country until the police investigation is completed.
“If found guilty, there should be charges filed and justice be served,” she said.
Earlier, London-based website Sarawak Report had claimed that Abdul Taib, who was warded in a private hospital in the state capital, was taken by force back to his residence in Demak Jaya, in Kuching last night.
The report, which used the headline ‘Taib ‘absconded’ at midnight from hospital ICU against doctors orders by Raghad’, sent shockwaves throughout the community.
Meanwhile, Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Abang Openg declined to answer any questions regarding the speculation over Taib.
“I don’t know,” he replied briefly when asked.
Last year, Abang Johari said Taib was recuperating after being taken ill while he was on leave abroad and that his health was improving.
In November last year, Taib’s sons had filed an injunction against their stepmother, Raghad, over the transfer of shares of a private company – Cahya Mata Sarawak Berhad to Raghad.
Datuk Seri Sulaiman Abdul Rahman Taib had reportedly challenged the authenticity of his father’s signatures on some documents involving transfer of shares from a company to Raghad.