KUALA LUMPUR – Concerns are mounting among legal circles regarding the treatment of individuals detained in police custody, with lawyers highlighting cases where suspects are deprived of informing their families or accessing legal counsel.
These concerns stem from recent legal battles exposing unlawful arrests and detentions. On May 18, the sessions court awarded RM145,000 in damages to Dr Ranjeet Singh, deeming his arrest unlawful and a violation of his rights.
Similarly, the federal government is appealing against a decision that found it responsible for the unlawful arrest of e-hailing driver Habibullah Che’ Gharani.
Typically, upon arrest, police can detain individuals for up to 24 hours. However, authorities may extend this period before laying charges, sometimes for up to seven or fourteen days, depending on the gravity of the alleged offence.
Section 28A of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that individuals arrested without a warrant have the right to inform their family or a friend and seek legal representation. However, lawyers like V. Satchiananthan argue that the enforcement of these provisions often falls short.
“Procedurally, everything is there (to protect a person’s rights during arrest or remand). But I think the enforcement is lacking,” Satchiananthan told Scoop.
He explained that when police appeared in front of a magistrate to seek further detention of a suspect, the police officer, who was usually the investigating officer, would be required to provide reasons to detain the individual longer.
However, if a suspect is unable to contact a legal representative, police can tell a magistrate anything during remand proceedings without being checked, Satchiananthan said.
“Sometimes detainees can’t inform anyone of their arrest. Even if the family members know of the arrest, they don’t have the details as to where the suspect is being detained and which court they will be brought to.”
“In fact, even when lawyers know who the investigating officer is, we would have a lot of trouble trying to get in touch with them,” Satchiananthan said.
When police abuse their powers, Section 28A does not provide for any consequences in the event suspects are not able to enforce their rights, he said.
Satchiananthan said the only recourse would be for individuals to pursue a civil action against police and the government, which could be time-consuming and expensive.
He also said that while the purpose of extended detention was to facilitate investigations, it was often unnecessary.
He explained that some individuals arrested for less serious offences were willing to cooperate with police and admit to the crime.
“Some of them even voluntarily show up at the police station when summoned,” he added.
Countermeasures needed
Meanwhile, lawyer Farhan Read also agreed that countermeasures were needed to ensure a suspect’s rights would not be violated during remand, and he highlighted that abuse began right at the start of the arrest process.
According to Farhan, it is not uncommon to hear about situations where police misuse their powers of arrest to collect bribes.
“For example, how this happens is when police stop an individual driving, thinking he is drunk, but he is not. So they check his phone, and perhaps there may be some form of content in there, such as pornography, and they use that information to their advantage.
“If you look up extortion offences under Section 386 of the Penal Code that have been reported in the news, it’s mostly about police officers caught while trying to extort money,” Farhan said.
Additionally, Farhan said repeat offenders, particularly drug users, ended up being common victims of police abuse and unlawful arrest.
“I know of this one client who is a convicted drug addict, and the authorities will usually go to his house and find drugs there, using that as a reason to extort him.
“One day they found a large amount and tried to claim a big sum of money. The client tried to get the money, but the authorities got nervous waiting for the cash to arrive and decided to proceed with bringing him to the (police station) instead to formally lodge a report,” Farhan said, adding that migrants were also vulnerable to extortion.
North South Initiative executive director Adrian Pereira suggested that migrants, particularly undocumented workers, were being treated as “guilty until proven innocent”.
This is further exacerbated by the inability of many migrants to speak and understand English or Bahasa Malaysia well.
Pereira also touched on the right of foreign diplomatic missions in Malaysia to be informed in the event their nationals were detained, but authorities usually caused delays.
“There is the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, where embassies must be informed regarding the arrest of their citizens here in Malaysia.
“But in Malaysia, the procedure takes a long time, and by the time they are informed, it may be too late to provide necessary assistance,” Pereira explained. – May 27, 2024