Tengku Merjan Almarhum Sultan Yahya Petra, the eldest sister of the Sultan of Kelantan, today asked Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to provide an explanation with regard to the allegation by the Raja Perempuan of Kelantan that she was roughed up by the police a week ago.

She said the issue had come up after a newspaper reported that the Raja Perempuan, Tengku Anis Tengku Abdul Hamid, was roughed up by the police at the Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital (HUSM) in Kubang Kerian, Kota Bharu on May 4 when her husband, Sultan Ismail Petra, was admitted there for follow-up treatment for a heart ailment.

Tengku Merjan said the publication of photographs of the injury sustained by Tengku Anis by a Malay language newspaper today should be explained by the police to know what actually happened.

"I hope that Hishammuddin can provide an immediate explanation on the (alleged) roughing up of Tengku Anis by the police," she said when contacted.

Tengku Anis had claimed that she was roughed up by the police when Sultan Ismail Petra was taken to the hospital under police escort after she and their third son, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry, were prevented from flying to Singapore to treat the sultan.

The ruler was brought back to Istana Mahkota after the treatment at the hospital where he was under the supervision of 10 doctors.

Meanwhile, Kelantan deputy chief police officer Amir Hamzah Ibrahim refuted the newspaper report that Tengku Anis was roughed up by the police.

He said he stood by his previous statement that the police had never roughed up any member of the Kelantan royalty.

"If such an incident had taken place, they should have lodged a police report so that the police can conduct an immediate investigation," he said when contacted.

- Bernama