Court allows substitute service on travel agency's claim against Azmin's three children

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): After not being successful in serving a RM102,560 suit to three of Senior Minister cum International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali's (pictured) children since September, a travel company has again obtained an order to utilise substitute service.

The order was approved on Nov 10 and was issued by the court last Friday (Nov 13).

With this, advertisements would be placed in several newspapers next week to inform of the suit.

This was confirmed by YHA Travel and Tours (M) Sdn Bhd's lawyer Adam Yap to theedgemarkets.com yesterday.

The case management of the matter was done on Nov 10.

The company also has an outstanding suit of RM167,332 against Mohamed Azmin.

It had to re-file the suit against the minister's children in September, after one of his daughters, Farah Syazliana, had paid her dues of RM8,510.

As such, the three who are said to still owe to the company are Farah Affifah (RM3,880), Farah Amira (RM6,400) and Mohamed Ameer Shazrin (RM92,280).

Case management for the two cases has been fixed on Dec 10 and Dec 21.

According to Yap, the Sessions Court has allowed both cases to be heard before one judge.

It was previously reported on July 22 that the court had allowed substitute service to be utilised to serve the court documents to Mohamed Azmin's children.

According to YHA's statement of claim that was sighted by theedgemarkets.com through a file search, Mohamed Azmin had been a customer of the travel agency for 20 years.

The company claimed Mohamed Azmin would normally settle his bills within three to four months but in this instance, the payments have been outstanding for far longer.

It was referring to family trips made between Sept 10, 2018 and Aug 5 last year, including to Marrakech, London, Jakarta, the Gold Coast, Dubai, Geneva, Singapore, Bangkok, Barcelona, and Santorini.

The company also provided the itineraries of Mohamed Azmin's trips to Hanoi and Kota Kinabalu between Sept 14 and Sept 16, 2018, and to Sandakan on May 10 to May 11 last year, which was during the Sandakan by-election.

YHA is now seeking payment of RM320,391 from Mohamed Azmin, or alternatively RM167,332 from the minister and a total of RM102,560 from his remaining children.

The company claimed it sent a letter of demand to Mohamed Azmin on Aug 27 and another on Sept 30 last year, but received no responses.

"Notwithstanding the repeated demands, the defendant had failed and neglected and refused to pay the amount stipulated," YHA said.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Azmin was reported to have filed a counter-claim against the travel agency through the firm of Messrs Daim & Gamany.

The minister claimed as reported in Malaysiakini that the travel agency's majority shareholder Yasmin Hanim Arbee and her husband, chairperson Mohd Ayub Hassan, were the parents of one Mohd Haziq Hassan Mohd Ayub.

According to the counterclaim, Haziq Hassan had been arrested in connection with the police probe into the purported sex video. (Note: Haziq Hassan is not the person in the video but another individual.)

The countersuit said both Yasmin and Mohd Ayub had enjoyed a "very close relationship" with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"The filing of this suit by the travel agency is not for the vindication of the plaintiff's rights but for some ulterior purpose that is designed to harm the defendant (Azmin)," it said.

"The conspiracy in relation to the 'fitnah videos' was orchestrated by the leader of a political party," it also said.

The countersuit also alleged that YHA's statement of claim had been leaked to Sarawak Report, which could not have been privy to the filing, thus supporting the claim of an ulterior motive.

Mohamed Azmin admitted liability to the sum owed by himself and his children under the age of 20, which according to him amounted to only RM162,272.

However, he said his children who are older than 20 will have to pay for the sum owed themselves

The minister is seeking damages, costs and other relief deemed necessary by the court.

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