Ordering police detainees to perform nude squats - which certain quarters claim is an affront to human rights - is justifiable, according to deputy public prosecutor Suhaimi Ibrahim today.

He told this to the independent commission formed to probe the nude ear squat video clip scandal.

The commission, known in full as the Commission of Inquiry into the Standard Operating Procedure, Approaches or Regulations in the Handling of Body Searches in Connection with Arrest and Detention by the Police, concluded its hearings today, five days after convening.

Commission head, former chief justice Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah, told reporters the body will now study the evidence and testimonies of the 16 witnesses called before revealing its report as well as recommendations by Jan 15 next year.

Suhaimi ( right ), in his submission to the commission in his capacity as the commission's facilitator, said that the manner in which body searches are conducted was justifiable.

"I submit that the body search carried out on the woman as seen in the video clip is not unjustifiable, save for the fact that it was recorded and distributed," he said in his closing statement.

He said the purpose of the procedure was to detect dangerous drugs and any other contraband items that could be hidden inside the vagina or anus.

"I would pause to stress that the woman was in fact arrested on suspicion of committing a drug-related offence. As such I humbly submit that for the above said reason alone, the manner of the body search conducted on her was justifiable," he added.

A 'better option'

He said the testimony of Dr Zainab Shamsuddin , an obstetrics and gynecology specialist from Hospital Kuala Lumpur revealed that the act of squatting was capable of dislodging any hidden foreign objects inside body orifices.

"The manner of the body search as seen in the video clip provides a better option than the method which requires physical contact with the suspect such as using the index finger or other necessary apparatus to retrieve any substance hidden in the vagina or anus.

"Such a method may expose the examiner to allegations and criticisms of abuse or misconduct," he said.

Suhaimi also submitted that the nude woman in the clip was not one of the five female Chinese nationals arrested and detained by the police and thus it was not necessary for the commission to require their testimonies.

He said a black and white hair-band worn by the woman in the video clip, the record of her arrest, the search and detention through the production of the arrest report, the lock-up diary, the list of detainees' registration and receipt book for her belongings all confirmed that she was the Malay woman who was produced before the commission this week.

As to the audio of the Quran recital heard in the video clip, Suhaimi said the testimony of Petaling Jaya district police chief Acting ACP Mohd Hazam Abdul Halim confirmed that there was a surau within the compounds of the police station.

"This explains the hearing of the Quran recital in the video clip," he said, adding that taking into consideration both corroborative and oral evidence, "... it can be safely concluded that the woman produced before the commission was the woman performing the ear squats in the nude as depicted in the video clip."

Reference terms

Suhaimi also provided a lengthy explanation on the manner in which the body search was carried out on the woman concerned - one of the four terms of reference of the commission.

In her testimony Tuesday, constable Wan Zawati Wan Ismail ( right ) had said that all women detainees at the PJ district police headquarters had to go through a strip search regardless of the offence involved.

The terms of reference for the five-member commission are:

  1. Determine whether the woman seen in the video clip doing 'ear squats' in the nude was one of the five female Chinese nationals who were arrested and held by police;

  • Investigate into the manner of the body search as carried out on the woman whose image was seen in the said video clip;

  • Determine whether or not the manner of the body search on the woman whose image seen in the video clip in police custody was unjustifiable;

  • Investigate the standard operating procedure, approaches or regulations in the handling of body searches in connection with arrest and detention by the police, and to propose any changes if needed.

    • The other members of the commission are former Bar Council chairperson Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, former MCA deputy president Lim Ah Lek, Wanita Umno Legal Aid Bureau chief Kamilia Ibrahim and Internal Security Ministry deputy secretary-general Hamzah Mohd Rus, who is the commission's secretary.