CHAPTER 1 iv) On 18 November, the Chairperson of BERSIH, Maria Chin Abdullah, was arrested a day before the BERSIH 5 rally. She was detained under SOSMA to facilitate investigations under Section 124C of the Penal Code for attempting an act detrimental to parliamentary democracy, in particular receiving funds from Open Society Foundation (OSF). The Commission visited her on 22 November and inspected the solitary confinement22 cell where she was being incarcerated. She was released after 10 days in detention and at the time of writing, she has yet to be charged for any offense by the authorities. In some cases involving detention under POCA, the Commission visited and interviewed the detainees to gather details on the alleged mistreatment during the detention. In some other cases the Commission wrote to the MOHA to forward the detainees’ or their families’ appeals on the detention and to highlight the Commission’s stand on the preventive law. The Commission clarifies here that the Commission’s letters to MOHA forwarding the complaint and stating the Commission’s recommendations thereto should not be taken as representations on behalf of the detainees under Section 19A(4) of POCA,23 as perceived by MOHA in their replies to the Commission. In July, the Commission requested to meet with MOHA’s Secretariat of POCA to understand the operational aspects of POCA and to highlight the Commission’s concerns and recommendations pertaining to the use of POCA. However, at the time of writing, the Commission’s request has yet to be answered. The Commission continued its joint inquiry with the EAIC on the allegation of torture and degrading treatment inflicted upon SOSMA detainees.24 Based on the statements recorded, eight out of nine interviewed detainees elucidated that they had faced torture, been denied rights to legal representation, been treated inhumanely, and been mentally abused during their 28 days of detention under SOSMA. In October, the Police informed the Commission that the Attorney General’s Chambers had decided that the four Police reports lodged by the SOSMA detainees, which had been investigated under Section 323 of the Penal Code,25 had been classified under ‘No Further Action’ (NFA) due to lack of substantial evidence, as well as the complainants’ failure to lodge the Police reports immediately after the occurrence of the alleged incident. The Commission, however, is in the process of seeking interviews with the Investigation Officers involved and will enquire on the video recording of the 22 Solitary confinement as defined by the Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects of Solitary Confinement 2007 is “the physical isolation of individuals who are confined to their cells for twenty-two to twenty-four hours a day. In many jurisdictions prisoners are allowed out of their cells for one hour of solitary exercise. Meaningful contact with other people is typically reduced to a minimum. The reduction in stimuli is not only quantitative but also qualitative. The available stimuli and the occasional social contacts are seldom freely chosen, are generally monotonous, and are often not empathetic.” 23 Section 19A(4) of POCA: A copy of every detention order made by the Board under subsection (1) shall as soon as may be after the making of the order be served on the person to whom it relates, and every such person shall be entitled to make representations to an Advisory Board constituted under Clause (2) of Article 151 of the Federal Constitution in accordance with the prescribed procedures. 24 The details of the allegations were highlighted in the Commission’s Annual Report 2015 on pages 93–94. 25 Section 323 of Penal Code: Whoever, except in the case provided for by section 334, voluntarily causes hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with a fine which may extend to two thousand ringgit or with both. 52 SUHAKAM ANNUAL REPORT 2016 suhakam 2new.indd 52 3/23/17 5:54 PM