DAP politician Teresa Kok today filed a suit at the Kuala Lumpur High Court against Home Minister and three others for unlawful arrest and false imprisonment last year.

The suit was filed by her lawyer Sankara Nair at the court registry this morning.

Kok, the member of Parliament for Seputeh and the Kinrara state assemblyperson, named Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar, Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan, arresting officer DSP E Kim Tien and the Malaysian government as defendants.

teresa kok sue government isa 130309 She claimed that she was wrongfully arrested and detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) last year.

In her statement of claim, Kok said that she was arrested by the defendants at the entrance to her residence at Pearl Tower, OG Heights at 11.15pm on Sept 12 last year.

She added that she was detained for two hours without being allowed to contact her closest relative or her lawyer.

She also said that at 2am on Sept 13 at the Wangsa Maju police station she was informed by the three defendants that she was detained under Section 73(1) of the ISA on the ground that she had taken part in activities that could cause tension and racial clashes.

Kok said she was then sent to a secret location where she was detained without trial until Sept 19.

She claimed that her arrest and detention were done without basis.

She also said Deputy Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar had issued an official press statement on Sept 19, 2008 saying that she was released unconditionally because "the police were satisfied that she was not a threat to public order and security".

No response from AG

Kok claimed that because of the negligence, arbitrariness and frivolity of the defendants in effecting her wrongful arrest and detention, she had been placed under severe mental stress, pain and suffering due to food poisoning and denial of her constitutional rights.

She is seeking damages for wrongful arrest and detention, pain and suffering and mental stress, general and special damages and other reliefs deemed fit by the court.

Speaking to reporters later, Kok said the reason why the suit was filed six months after her release was due to the request by the Attorney General's chambers for more time to reply to her letter of demand.

However she said that she has yet to receive any reply from the AG and decided to proceed with the civil suit.

She also told reporters that international organisations such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union will be following up on the matter and will seek an explanation from the government on her ISA detention.

"They (the police) should have called me to take my statement first (before detaining me). Simple things like that they don't bother to do but instead they put me directly under ISA," she said.

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