i)
A father informed the Commission that his 17-year-old son and
two accomplices were caught red-handed by the Police on 15
September 2015 while they were trying to steal four motorcycles in
Kuala Terengganu. After 14 days of remand, the Police released his
son without charge. He thought that no action would be taken against
his son, and he claimed that his son had subsequently repented and
even compensated the owners of the motorcycles. His son went on to
stay and work with his uncle at an oil pump station in Hulu Terengganu.
However, on 24 April, the Police instructed him to bring his son to the
Terengganu Police headquarters and when he brought his son to the
Police, his son was arrested under POCA. After 59 days of detention,
his son was issued with a Police supervision order under POCA.
ii)
A complainant who was required to reside in Kuala Berang, Terengganu
under the Police supervision order issued by the Prevention of Crime
Board complained to the Commission that he could not find a job
and a place to stay within the restricted area. He was arrested by
the Police in Jasin on 1 November 2015. He was then remanded for
35 days in several districts. After the remand period, he was detained
under POCA for 59 days before an electronic tag was attached to him
and he was served with a two-year restriction order in Kuala Berang,
Terengganu. The complainant appealed to be transferred to Kluang,
Johor as he claimed that he could not survive in Kuala Berang due
to the difficulty of finding a job. The Commission wrote to the MOHA
to highlight the complainant’s predicament, as such a situation may
prompt the person to do anything, even breaking the law, to survive.
iii)
On 11 July, the Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch)
Chairman, Dato’ R Sri Sanjeevan, was arrested under POCA after
several days of remand to facilitate Police investigation on alleged
criminal intimidation and extortion. The Commission visited him on 15
July after receiving a complaint from his wife and family, who were
concerned with his safety as the Police had denied him visits from
his family and lawyer during the detention. However, on 26 July, the
High Court ordered him to be released from POCA after allowing his
habeas corpus application due to the detention order being faulty.
CHAPTER 1
Apart from complaints regarding detention without trial under the
aforementioned laws, other issues were also brought to the Commission’s
attention, such as detainees being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman,
or degrading treatment during interrogation; the denial of access to legal
representation during the detention period; the detention of children
under the Acts; and the unjustifiable and/or unrestricted use of the
laws to detain individuals due to the absence of judicial oversight. The
Commission highlights here several cases reported to and investigated by
the Commission during the year:
SUHAKAM ANNUAL REPORT 2016 51
suhakam 2new.indd 51
3/23/17 5:54 PM