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PSM trio take complaints to Bukit Aman
Malaysia Kini - August 17, 2011
G Packialetchumy, P Indra and P Jody went to police headquarters in Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur, with PSM leaders today. They submitted a four-page memorandum together with seven reports that have been lodged about police misconduct.
The women said they had been forced to strip naked and change into the lock-up uniform within sight of two male personnel, in an open area of the police lock-up at the Kepala Batas station in Penang. This, they said, had happened on the night of June 25 when 31 PSM members had been detained while on a roadshow. Thirteen of the detainees were women.
"As soon as we arrived at the lock-up, we took turns to go into the lobby. I saw over 10 female and two male officers," said Packialetchumy, who claimed she was then ordered to take off her clothes.
She said that both the male officers, who were standing about two metres away, had repeatedly shouted "Buka, kenapa tak buka?" (Take off, why aren't you taking off...?).
"When I refused to, a female officer stepped up and pulled at my clothes," a furious Pakialetchumy, 40, said. She then stood at the back of a female officer to change into the lock-up gear as instructed.
In her complaint, Jodie, 51, alleged that a male police officer had kicked her in the leg when she initially refused to obey the order.
Indra, 53, claimed a police personnel tried to pulled her pants off. They said they believed the same thing had happened to the other female detainees.
Other than complaints of alleged rough treatment of PSM detainees and inappropriate behaviour by their police custodians, the PSM activists are also questioning the general conduct of the police in arresting them, their interrogation and subsequent charging.
One area of concern was what they claim is the irresponsible manner of police interrogators. They claim that they were questioned by in Malay despite many of them not being proficient in the national language, the interrogating officers refusing their request for Tamil speakers to assists or question them.
Many of the activists claimed that they had to sign the statements recorded without understanding what was written in them. This, they fear, may lead to police adding or subtracting from their statements to their detriment.
PSM also questioned the abnormally long remand order which they believe was made with bad intent on the part of police and used to torture and pressure them. The conduct of the police, the memorandum claims, smacks of a lack of independence and a bias toward the BN-led government.
The socialist party demands that their complaints and police reports on the matter be investigated and stern action taken so that the shameful conduct will not recur, something which is important for the police to do, if they ever at all want to clean up their image.
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