I was told to strip twice, sole woman ISA detainee tells Suhakam
A female Internal Security Act detainee told a Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) inquiry that police officers ordered her to strip naked on two occasions and also threatened to arrest her children.
Ng Chooi Choon, 56, was detained on Jan 25 last year, the second day of the Lunar Chinese New Year, for allegedly falsifying travel documents and being involved in the trafficking of migrant workers.
The mother of three, who also recruited foreign women to work in local nightspots, is the only female ISA detainee being held at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping, Perak.
"I was asked by a constable and a corporal to take off my clothes. I was thinking maybe they wanted a free show.
"I told him that I was old enough to be their mother and then told them that they should go home and see their own mother, but I had no choice as I was in custody. They stood there and had a good look," she told the Suhakam panel which consisted of commissioners Harun Hashim, Hamdan Adnan and Asiah Abu Samah.
Three-day inquiry
Suhakam is holding a three-day inquiry which began yesterday at the Taiping Prison's Sports Club complex on the conditions of Internal Security Act detainees. The ISA is a controversial law which allows detention without trial.
Ng, who hails from Kuala Lumpur, said she was held at the Pandan Indah police station and later transferred to the Jalan Bandar police station before being sent to Kamunting where she is serving a two-year detention order, which can be extended indefinitely.
According to Ng, she was told by the police to strip twice. However, she did not specify where the alleged incidents took place.
"I reported it to the authorities only when I came to Kamunting because I was afraid the police would put pins and needles into me," she told the inquiry.
"I also told the police officers [involved] in the incident that what they did was between themselves and their God," she added.
No lawyers
Ng said the police had told her that under the ISA, she would not be allowed to meet family members or lawyers.
When told by commissioner Hamdan that it was her constitutional right to seek legal counsel, she replied: "I think those issues are too deep for me."
She also said that police had threatened to arrest her children if she did not cooperate.
Ng later appealed to the commission for an early release, claiming that her children were being harassed by her ex-husband.
"My children need me now. My husband is trying to pimp one of my daughters so he can have an easy life. When I was around he would be afraid of going near them but now that I am inside, I cannot do anything [to protect them].
"My son who wanted to be a police officer, and was a national [sharp] shooter, also had his dreams squashed with my arrest. I want to rebuild his confidence again when I go out," said Ng, who immediately broke down and cried.
No news of release
She said that she had met the ISA advisory board three times and appealed for an early release twice.
"A judge on the board had even recommended that I be released but there has been no news.
"I am afraid that the government wants to lock me up and throw away the keys," she added.
Ng also told the commissioners that her solitary confinement, which has lasted for 15 months, was taking a toll on her. Being the only woman detainee, she has been kept isolated from the other inmates.
"I talk to my cats and say hello to the sweeper. And I have the female wardens here who take care of me but I am not supposed to talk to them. Solitary confinement is terrible," she said.
Asked by the commission what she would like to request for, she said that ISA detentions should be reduced to one year.
Ng said she tries her best to stay healthy as seeking medical treatment in the hospital can be embarrassing.
"I have to go to the hospital in handcuffs, and the children and people look at me," she explained.
Following this, Ng told the commissioners: "I hope that I have not said too much. I may be locked up for two or four more years."
Boycott by reformasi detainees
To date, Suhakam has heard the testimony of 13 ISA detainees a majority of whom were arrested for their alleged links to the Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM).
Police claim that KMM was a militant movement bent on overthrowing the government through violence. It was also alleged that the group is linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network.
However, six reformasi leaders who were detained since April last year have decided to boycott the inquiry.
They are protesting against Suhakam for restricting its inquiry to the conditions of the Kamunting detention camp, and not on whether the controversial security law should be repealed.
The hearing continues tomorrow.
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