A marketing officer testified today that several Selangor Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers had assaulted him after arresting him two years ago on suspicion of having received a bribe.

T Sivanesan, 24, said one officer had wrapped newspaper around an industrial steel rod and hit his body with it.

NONE "Another officer, identified as Mohd Ashraf Mohd Yusof (left, in photo) , used a cane to hit my private parts.

Another officer placed ice on my private parts," he told the royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into the death of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock (right in photo) .

"All this happened while my hands were handcuffed behind my back. I was stripped to my underwear when all this took place in Plaza Masalam (where the Selangor MACC has its office on Level 14)," he said in reply to questions from Attorney-General's Chambers representative Awang Armadajaya Awang Mahmud.

Sivanesansaid his nightmare began when he was first picked up from his home on Sep 4, 2008.

Mohd Ashraf was also one of the officers who had interrogated Teoh the night and early morning of July 16, 2009, when Teoh was found dead. 

NONE Sivanesan said he was first slapped on his face and kicked on the back by five to six officers on the night of his detention.

He identified them as including Khairul Nizam, Zulkifli, and Hairul Ilham Hamzah.

“An officer named Mogan threatened me, saying this place will be like hell if I did not cooperate. Naturally, I was afraid.

"They wanted me to sign that I agreed to the MACC arrest but I did not agree to it," he said.

"I was brought before a magistrate for the MACC to remand me. The magistrate granted their application for a remand of four days, although they had intially requested five days.

"I was also warned by the MACC officers not to tell the magistrate about the assault."

The MACC, said Sivanesan ( above ), had accused him of taking a bribe of RM30,000 and had even ransacked his home but did not find anything.

teoh beng hock royal commission first meeting 290111 james foong "Following the remand order, they continued assaulting me for 15-20 minutes when I returned to Plaza Masalam," he said.

Warned several times

In the second assault, Sivanesan said, 10 to 15 officers entered the room and assaulted him with punches, kicks and an iron rod.

The witness said he recognised Ashraf as being one of those who had assaulted him as Ashraf had testified in the Teoh inquest.

After being detained for three days, he said could not stand the beatings and was forced to admit that he took the RM30,000.

Following this, he was brought before the magistrate to be released, but the MACC officers had again warned him not to tell the magistrate he was assaulted if he did not want his remand extended.

The MACC did not, however, press any charges on him in court.

Speaking fast, and at times inconsistently, in his testimony, Sivanesan was cautioned several times by RCI commissioners James Foong ( above ) and Abdul Kadir Sulaiman ( below ).

perdana war tribunal 070207 abdul kadir sulaiman Sivanesan gave his testimony without being allowed to refer to the police report he had made against the MACC on Sep 11, 2008, following his release.

After lodging the report, Sivanesan was brought to the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang and admitted for his injuries.

“They gave me a watery solution to unblock the blood clot to my head and kidney,” he said.

“I also took photographs of the injury,” he said.

Credibility questioned

Ironically, Sivanesan was one of MACC's key witnesses in the sand-dredging case involving the Selangor government.

His ordeal came to light when MACC counsel Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the commissioners when he wanted to cross-examine Sivanesan.

ramli yusuff asset declare case 120310 muhammad shafee abdullah This led to Foong, who is a federal court judge, to remark that Sivanesan had complained of assault by the MACC.

Following this, Shafee ( right ) grilled Sivanesan as to the veracity of his claims of assault. Sivanesan maintained he was telling the truth.

The senior lawyer also questioned Sivanesan's claim earlier in his testimony that he was able to bring his handcuffed hands to the front via under his feet - due to Sivanesan's physical size.

The witness maintained he could do so.

When asked whether the police report he had lodged or the testimony in the RCI was the 'more correct' version, Sivanesan said it would be his police report, as it was made several days after the assault.

This is because his testimony to the RCI is over an incident that occurred over two years ago, said Sivanesan.