29 held in remand for 7 weeks, the brutality Indians face in Malaysia
By: Yuvern Sundram
Tags: Police Brutality, Racism, Malaysia, Indian, Discrimination

29 held in remand for 7 weeks, the brutality Indians face in Malaysia

Most of us have seen the video spiralling around the internet about a group of individuals being arrested over a shooting incident in Banting in September Yuvern Sundram Nov 13, 2020·4 min read

The backstory for this was a drive-by shooting that took place in Banting on the 25th of September in front of a secondary school. Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Fadzil Ahmat reported that amid their escape from the shooter, they had collided with a group of students. All were rushed to Banting Hospital for treatment.

4 days after the incident, the Selangor police had arrested 29 individuals in a raid called Ops Blackjack under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) & Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (POCA)

Part II of the Act — Special Powers for Security Offences; Power of Arrest & Detention Subsection (5) reads that a police officer of or above the rank of Superintendent of Police may extend the period of detention for not more than twenty-eight days, for investigation.

It is further explained in Subsection (6) that reads if the police officer is of the view that further detention is not necessary under subsection (5), the person may be released but an electronic monitoring device may be attached to the person under subsections (7) and (8) for investigation. For further reading of the SOSMA Act, use this hyperlink.

Part I of the Act — Powers of Arrest & Remand; Procedures before Magistrate Subsection 4(1) (a) & (b) reads

(a) on the production of a statement in writing signed by a police officer, not below the rank of Inspector stating that there are grounds for believing that the name of that person should be entered on the Register, remand the person in police custody for a period of twenty-one days; or

(b) if no such statement is produced, and there are no other grounds on which the person is lawfully detained, direct his release.

Now in Subsection (4)(2) (a) (ii), a statement in writing signed by a police officer, not below the rank of Assistant Superintendent stating that it is intended to hold an inquiry into the case of that person under section 9, order the person to be remanded in custody for thirty-eight days.

Likewise, if the investigation is still being carried out, an electronic monitoring device shall be attached to the person.

If you are wondering, bail will not be granted as they are being charged with a security offence and is parallel with the Criminal Procedure Code

Present

Now, 7 weeks later, a video of a group of Indian men sitting on the floor begging for help was posted on Instagram and brought to light during a live show on Instagram by @harvinthskin.

Prof Dr Ramasamy posted on Facebook yesterday raising questions as to why they haven’t been charged yet and if the police may not have enough evidence over the matter to press said charges against the 29 arrested individuals. He was also advised to file a habeas corpus in court to expedite their release.

Klang MP Charles Santiago confirms that the court had ordered for the group’s release, yet they remained in custody. He adds that although initially they were arrested for the Banting shooting, they were also charged for the murder that happened in 2016. As there is still ambiguity over the matter, there is pressure on PDRM to release a statement clarifying the reason behind this potential injustice.

Statistics speak for themselves as we have seen in the case of Kugan Ananthan (2009), Sugumar Chelladury (2013), Karuna Nithi Pandian (2013), Dharmandran Narayansamy (2013), & Balamurugan Suppiah (2017). These people are only a handful as Indians make up 7% of the population yet 1/4 of reported deaths while in custody are Indians.

Let us help by educating ourselves on these matters and let us do our part in defending the disadvantaged.

As an Indian in this country, amid all the discrimination we face, I beg that we represent our communities and do our part to save our people. As a Malaysian, I beg that we don’t discriminate against each other and fight for equality, being patriotic to me isn’t just about waving our flag but treated equally, not robbed of opportunities, and certainly not racial profiling in crimes. As a citizen of this world, we stand for the #BLM, so I beg we stand for all the injustice around the world. Our priority should be that nobody is robbed of their right basic necessities, education, and freedom.

Let us not keep quiet because if it weren’t them, it could have been us.

Read more on brutality and discrimination on:

https://www.suaram.net/2020/11/13/pdrm-must-stop-abusing-the-remand-process/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCx_Oh8h2mG/?igshid=mr89t4k7xqns