Today, I held a press conference at my Seputeh Service Centre on a case of police brutality and misconduct that happened to a resident in my constituency. The complainant was falsely detained and abused.
Based on her police report, according to the complainant, she was at the bank withdrawing money, early in the morning on 24 March 2012, (at about 6am). Following this, while she was counting her money in her car, she noticed a car with high beams flashing at her. Fearing for the worst she quickly drove off heading home. She then realized that the car which was following her was actually the police. According to her, when she reached her condominium two police officers queried her motives of ‘running away’ from the authorities. After explaining herself, the police officer proceeded to search her car. She asked the police officer why he only searched the front and not the back of the car. The police officer just asked her to be quiet and not to ask so many questions.
Subsequently she was asked to follow the police officers to the station. She obliged and was accompanied by the security guard at her condominium. She waited for almost 2 – 3 hours at the station not knowing what was happening to her ‘case’. No statement or report was taken from her. She then told the officer if there was no other issues she would like to return home. While she was exiting the station a woman police officer stopped her and confiscated her handphone. She was thrown to the floor, handcuffed and after, made to undergo a drug test. Her experience during that time traumatized her on how the police handles and treats their citizens whom they are supposed to be protecting. She was later bailed by her brother.
(From left) Mr Peter Seen(DAP Seputeh), Ms Lim Hui Hui(complainant) after meeting with the Timbalan Ketua Polis Daerah Brickfield Puan Aida Abdul Hamid. She promised that a full investigation will be carried out in this case
Here is the news article regarding the press conference in Malaysiakini.
‘Assaulted and sexually harassed’ in police station
A businesswoman has lodged a police report that she was assaulted and sexually harassed by police when she was interrogated at the Sri Petaling police station on the morning of March 24.
Speaking in Mandarin, the woman Lim Hui Hui (left in photo) said: “The lady officer on duty at the station asked me to urinate into a bottle to run tests on the urine, but my hands were handcuffed behind my back.
“When I asked her how could I take off my pants to do it, she squeezed my breasts and said that I just have to do it.”
Lim, a mother of four, also showed pictures of the swellings she suffered on the right shoulder, hips, thighs, left calf and wounds on her wrists while being handcuffed.
At a press conference held in the presence of DAP Seputeh MP Teresa Kok and her lawyer Eric Tan Pok Shyong this morning, Lim said she filed the police report last Thursday.
She said she was driving to the Maybank branch in Kuchai Park, Kuala Lumpur, early on the morning of March 24 to bank in some cash when she noticed the headlights of a car flashing behind her vehicle.
Fearing for her safety, she drove back to her apartment at Dynasty Garden Condo in Seputeh.
That was when she saw the flashing blue lights on the car behind, which came after her. Certain that it was the police, Lim stopped and allowed the police, who wanted to search her car, to do so.
And on the request of the police, Lim followed them to the Petaling police station on Jalan Klang Lama.
“I was there for almost three hours. They did not take any statement from me or allow me to make a police report. I told them that I could not waste any more time and I had to go back home to my four children.
“That was when the woman officer stopped me, took away my handphone, handcuffed me and told the other officers present that I was trying to escape. They all pinned me down to the floor and I was stepped on,” she added.
“Later they took me to the Sri Petaling police station for urine test, for drugs. Why, I don’t know. This was when I was asked to urinate with my hands handcuffed behind my back and sexually harassed by the woman police officer. The urine tests came back negative.”
Lim then demonstrated how she was handcuffed and asked to produce a sample of her urine for the test.
Kok said: “I am very surprised by the humiliating treatment of Lim when she was taken to the police station. She was handcuffed, sexually harassed and even the male officers joined in and pinned her down.
“What is even more surprising is that when Lim lodged the report against the police for the humiliation she was made to go through the officer she was complaining about. I do not think her complaint will be taken seriously at all.”
Kok said she would take Lim to meet the deputy chief of the Brickfields district police headquarters on the matter and lodge a complaint with the Disciplinary Section of the police headquarters at Bukit Aman as well.
‘Police have been unprofessional’
Lawyer Tan said: “Based on the evidence given by Lim, the police have been very unprofessional in handling this case. Looking at the scenario, it was 6am and Lim had reasonable grounds not to stop until she reached the safety of her condominium.
“There is no issue of obstructing the police from discharging their duty. She was kept at the police station for three to four hours, while her four children were alone at home. She was then forcefully arrested and assaulted in the police station.
“At the other location, she was again sexually harassed. The police have clearly not followed procedures set out in the Criminal Procedure Code.
“She was denied legal access and also threatened that she would be detained for one week.”
Tan (right in photo) hoped police would conduct a thorough investigation into Lim’s complaint as it is a serious matter that could taint the professional image of the police force.
Contacted by Malaysiakini later, Brickfields deputy OCPD Supt Aida Abdul Hamid said she met with Lim and an aide of the Seputeh MP on the matter this afternoon.
Aida said the police would look into Lim’s complaint but the police has yet to decide which unit to take charge.
“Either the Brickfields police or the (Bukit Aman) discipline unit (will investigate the case)… we are waiting the order from the headquarters.”
She also said the police officer accused of the assault would not be suspended for the moment, until at least the investigation is announced.
“If we have to suspend police officers everytime there is a complaint, we will then have no officers on duty.”
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/193864
What has happened is neither new nor strange with the quarter cooked Malaysain police which is what they are good at and famous for. The only thing that did not happen to her is, she is still alive and did not die in the custody of the police which is what the quarter cooked Malaysian is very good at. Not many people in the custody of the police can attest to that and just remember the thousands that die in their custody.
Do you also know why the police did not search the back of the car ?
May be the IGP can explain why ?
She looks more like the type of woman working in some sleazy karaoke joints.
I emphatise with complainant but going by today ould careless to report unless of course something tragic happens or that somebody dies.
And talking of death, what is happening with the inquiry in Shah Alam – four (4) victims summarily “executed” by the roadside(giving new meaning to roadkill), police immediately had them tagged as Geng XYZ, responsible for numerous robbery involving petrol stations/car theft in Klang-Shah Alam when in actual fact, victims at most were mere joy riders without proper documentation !!!
Seems to me a follow-up with Selangor CPO is in order MP Seputeh and regards as always.
So? Does that mean she deserves to be abused? TOKZ, you should check your discrimination at the door. And for the record, as far as I know, she is a businesswoman. TQ.
Hope a proper investigation will be carried out in the name of justice.
Its so scary to hear such things can happen & next time if similar incident happen at that hour is it ok to just drive straight to police station while being followed by unknown ppl ? But then its what happen at the police stn which is truly unprofessional (to the layman eyes) even though the police may have a right to say they are just doing their job. Perhaps PDRM should print out a big NOTICE with DO’s & DONT’s while being held at police stn so the rakyat who does not know his/her rights will know exactly what should one expect.
TOKZ don’t ever judge a woman by her looks or type you are just being a typical MCP of the worst kind
Nobody would want to go through such humiliating experience. TOKZ, what lousy reasoning you have! You are an embarrasment to us men (if you are one!). What the police did to her was absolutely unprofessional, distasteful, disgraceful, idiotic. And I am sure there are laws which they are punishable with. What she went through cannot be accepted by anyone at all. Not telling her what she was being reprimanded for already open the door for our suspicion of the police’s motives in the first place.
Cant she differentiate a patrol car with normal car? Or that police was in normal car? Anyway totally disagree with the way she was treated at police station.