KUALA LUMPUR – Lawyers for Liberty (LFL), along with 35 other civil society organisations and political parties, have urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to explain an apparent lack of action against a VVIP bodyguard implicated in the assault of a deaf e-hailing driver in May.
The demand, along with a call for the prime minister to establish an inquiry commission into the assault incident, was detailed in a memorandum submitted by LFL director Zaid Malek to a representative from the Prime Minister’s Office in Putrajaya today.
The memorandum also seeks an explanation as to why the Attorney-General’s Chambers have yet to press charges against the policeman involved in the assault case, despite police having already submitted its investigation papers on the incident to prosecutors.
Besides that, the document states that the memorandum’s signatories are pressing for an investigation into police officers and an individual who claimed to represent the palace, whom Ong Ing Keong claimed had attempted to convince him to drop the matter.
“Failure to prosecute individuals involved in this case has brought down (the public’s) confidence in our nation’s justice system and raised questions on whether our laws are being implemented fairly in accordance with Article 8 of the Federal Constitution.”
Article 8 of the constitution stipulates that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to equal protection of the law.
Besides LFL, the memorandum is also supported by the Deaf Advocacy and Wellbeing National Organisation (Dawn), the Rangkaian Solidariti Demokratik Pesakit Mental (Siuman), the Autism Inclusiveness Direct Action Group (Aida) and the Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED).
The Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement, All Women’s Action Society (Awan), Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Justice for Sisters and the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) are some of the other groups supporting the memorandum.
Political parties Muda and Parti Sosialis Malaysia also backed the memorandum, which is also undersigned by a total of 149 individuals, including former senator Datuk Ras Adiba Radzi, who is also the president of OKU Sentral, and Anit Kaur Randhawa, co-chairperson of the Bar Council’s ad hoc committee on persons with disabilities.
In August, following a two-month wait for justice, Ong made public the dashcam footage of his assault outside the St Regis Hotel in the city centre here.
The footage depicts an individual, dressed in a white shirt and a dark suit, punching Ong in the face, causing the driver’s head to snap back and resulting in bleeding from his lips.
It was previously reported that the individual responsible for the assault is suspected to be a police officer attached to a VVIP’s security detail.
The bodyguard under investigation is a member of the security detail for Johor Regent Tunku Ismail, who has called for a thorough investigation and urged the authorities to deliver justice to the victim. The Crown Prince confirmed that the bodyguard in question was from the police force.
On June 14, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain confirmed that the investigation papers on the case had been sent to the AGC.
While Razarudin initially said that disciplinary action had been taken against an officer involved in the case, he later clarified that the action was due to the officer’s failure to declare assets. – September 5, 2024