Issues
During the visit, SUHAKAM interviewed the 39 juvenile detainees. From the interviews,
SUHAKAM recorded 2 complaints:
i.
Two detainees told SUHAKAM that they were beaten and tortured at Sungai Petani
District Headquarters (IPD). They added that they were taken to several police
stations. SUHAKAM was also informed that the detainees were forced to plead
guilty and were subsequently detained under POCA. They were being investigated
over a robbery.
ii. The second complaint was from another detainee. He said he was beaten and
tortured at Dukun Police Station, Negeri Sembilan. The detainee also told SUHAKAM
that his custody changed hands between several District Headquarters. They were
Sepang IPD, Shah Alam IPD, Subang Jaya IPD, Serdang IPD and Banting IPD. The
complainant said he was forced to plead guilty and he was subsequently detained
under POCA.
The sentencing of a detainee without trial violates Article 9 of the UDHR which states
that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile. While Article 10
states that an individual is entitled to a fair hearing to determine any allegations against
him, Article 11(1) adds that all persons charged with a criminal offence are entitled to
be considered innocent until proven guilty.
Besides that, Article 5 of the Federal Constitution also talks about the freedom of self.
This prevents an individual from being arrested without reason and without a trial. Article
7(2) has outlined that anyone who has been released cannot be charged repeatedly
unless ordered so by a higher court. Although the Federal Constitution states these
rights, laws such as POCA still exclude them.
Article 5 of the UDHR states that no one may be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment. Article 1 of the Convention against Torture (CAT) states that any
form of action that causes pain or suffering, either physically or mentally, intentionally
for a particular purpose, is a form of abuse that violates human rights.
Section 330 of the Penal Code makes it an offence punishable by imprisonment of up
to 7 years and a fine for any person who voluntarily causes injury to any person, for the
purpose of obtaining a confession or information which leads to the detection of an
offence or to return property.
Police officers changing hands over detainees is an abuse of power. According to
Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code (Act 593), regardless of the case involved,
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SUHAKAM
ANNUAL REPORT 2018