Police will not investigate the alleged detention of a 14-year-old boy by his school teachers and officers from the Negri Sembilan Religious Affairs Department (Jheains) at an Islamic missionary centre in Port Dickson.

 

Negeri Sembilan police chief DCP Jaafar Mohd Yusof told Malaysiakini that the matter was just a case of allegations and counter-allegations.

 

"(The detention) is just an allegation [...] this person said this, that person said that. It is complicated for us to handle," he said when contacted yesterday.

 

"This is a matter between the Social Welfare Department, the Negeri Sembilan Islamic Affairs Department and the family," he added.

 

G Thiyaggurudeen, who is Muslim on paper, claimed he was detained by his school teachers and Jheains officers at an Islamic missionary centre on Feb 13.

 

There he claimed he was forced to drink air penawar and lodge a police report against his Hindu father alleging that he (Thiyaggurudeen) was being forced to leave Islam.

                                

'Air penawar' is water that has been subject to prayers and reportedly possesses healing properties.

 

A month later on March 11, Thiyaggurudeen attempted suicide by drinking paraquat mixed with coffee, allegedly due to fear he would be held at the missionary centre again.

                    

Paraquat is normally used as a herbicide, and causes multiple organ failure in humans if ingested even in small quantities. It is also potentially lethal if its fumes are inhaled.

 

His father S Ganesan, has lodged multiple police reports on the matter, blaming the boy's teachers and Jheains officers for his son's mental trauma .

                       

The teenager is listed as a Muslim on his MyKad identity card although his father is a Hindu and his mother, an Indonesian Muslim.

 

Ganesan had applied to the Syariah Court to change his son's religion, but was told that he must wait until the boy is 18.

 

'Jump off building'

 

Jaafar said the police are unable to act as there are currently no documents to determine Thiyaggurudeen's real religious status.

 

"Without any documents, we can't take any action. We can only ensure that there are no fights between the two sides," he said.

 

When contacted, Ganesan said has engaged a lawyer and will take the matter to court.

 

He also revealed that the authorities had attempted last Friday to remove Thiyaggurudeen from Seremban's Tuanku Jaafar Hospital where he was warded after his suicide attempt.

 

"They did a raid, the Social Welfare Department came with police and the Islamic Affairs Department [...] they wanted to take my son away.

 

"This traumatised my son and he became hysterical [...] he wanted to hit the doctor and jump off the building. For almost an hour, they caused chaos in the ward," he said.

 

Ganesan, who was in Kuala Lumpur to meet his lawyers, said the authorities only left after being blocked by Ganesan's friends.

 

The Negeri Sembilan police chief confirmed the incident but had a different version.

 

"Yes, it's true, there was a letter from the Social Welfare Department for us to take the boy and hand him over to them. But the director had said if he (Thiyaggurudeen) doesn't want to come, there's nothing we can do," Jaafar explained.

 

The Negeri Sembilan Social Welfare Department could not be contacted for comment.

 

Fearing for his safety, Thiyaggurudeen was discharged from the hospital hours after the incident. He was brought out through a different entrance to avoid the authorities, said Ganesan.

 

He is now being treated at a private health facility and is expected to be discharged soon.

 

"The doctor said he is okay and he is showing signs of improvement. There are only small traces (of paraquat) left in his system now," Ganesan said.