Did You Know: If an Accused is Warded in M’sia, Court Proceedings Can Just Be Held at the Hospital?

There are many instances of court cases being postponed in Malaysia because an accused person is hospitalised.

One prominent recent example is in August 2026, when former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was admitted to the National Heart Institute (IJN), prompting the Bera Member of Parliament’s (MP) Sessions Court charge under Section 36(2) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act (failing to declare assets) to be postponed to 27 August.

Deputy prime minister datuk seri zahid hamidi (right) visiting ismail sabri (left) in ijn

Naturally, this raises a question:

Can someone actually be charged, remanded, or tried outside of a physical courtroom and inside of a hospital?

Well, the short answer is yes, as Malaysian law does not strictly make the physical courtroom itself an absolute requirement for these legal processes to occur. With legal insights from Kuala Lumpur-based law firm ADIL Legal, here is everything you should know:

An “open and public court”

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According to Section 6 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), the courts for the administration of criminal justice in Malaysia shall be those constituted pursuant to the Constitution, or the Courts of Judicature Act 1964 (CJA), or the Subordinate Courts Act 1948 (SCA), or by any other law enforced in the country.

Furthermore, Section 7 of the CPC establishes that the “place” in which any criminal court is held for the purpose of inquiring into or trying any offence shall be deemed an “open and public court” to which the public generally may have access.

Similarly, Section 15(1) of the CJA  prescribes that the place in which any court is held for the purpose of trying any cause or matter, civil or criminal, shall be deemed an open and public court to which the public generally may have access.

This provision also establishes that the court shall have the power to hear any cause or matter or any part thereof “in camera” if the court is satisfied that it is expedient in the interests of justice, public safety, public security or propriety, or for other sufficient reason.

Additionally, Section 15A(1) of the CJA allows the court, in the interest of justice, to conduct the proceedings of any cause or matter, civil or criminal, through a remote communication technology, with Section 15A(4) explicitly defining “place” to include cyberspace, a virtual place, or virtual space.

Which “place” can be deemed an “open and public court”?

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Section 59(4) of the SCA establishes that Sessions Courts shall ordinarily be held at such places as the Chief Judge may direct, but should necessity arise, they may also be held at any other place within the limits of their jurisdiction. Meanwhile, Section 76(3) of the Act establishes the exact same flexibility for Magistrates’ Courts.

This means alternative locations like a hospital ward, a police lock-up, or other necessary sites can legally function as courts if the courts declare them as an “open and public court”. 

When it comes to formal charging, the process requires that the accused appear or be brought before the court where a charge containing the particulars of the offence shall be framed, read, and explained under Section 173(a) of the CPC for summary trials, or Section 178(1) of the CPC for trials before the High Court.

Neither provision explicitly mandates that these procedural steps must happen inside a traditional, built-for-purpose courtroom. Instead, they focus on the action, requiring that the accused appear or be brought before a judicial officer so the charge can be formally read, explained, and a plea recorded.

Because the law only requires the presence of the accused before the judge, along with proper statutory authorisation for the venue, these sections make it legally permissible to execute the formal charging process at alternative sites, such as a bedside in a hospital ward, if circumstances require it.

How about remand proceedings?

ADIL Legal clarified that when investigations cannot be completed within twenty-four hours, Section 117 of the CPC establishes that the police officer shall immediately transmit a copy of the diary entries to a Magistrate and produce the accused before the Magistrate.

The law firm noted how the provision does not explicitly mention the word “court”, but only requires that the accused person be produced before a Magistrate.

Because Magistrates’ Courts possess the statutory flexibility under Section 76(3) of the SCA to sit at any place within their jurisdiction when necessity arises, ADIL Legal said that remand hearings can legally take place at alternative locations such as police lock-ups or a hospital ward.

Full-fledged trials can also take place at a hospital, but…

In theory, even a full-fledged trial can proceed outside a conventional courtroom if the venue is formally declared an open court under the statutory provisions, or conducted online where appropriate via remote communication technology under Section 15A of the CJA.

However, ADIL Legal noted that in practice, conducting an entire trial in an alternative setting like a hospital ward or remotely is typically done as a last resort. Such an approach depends heavily on whether the accused is continuously fit enough to follow the proceedings and understand the evidence, while also requiring the courts to navigate significant logistical and public access constraints.

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