He suffered injuries to the face and head while his wife and 20-year-old daughter were 'kicked and slapped' in public. Despite lodging four police reports in the past three months, Zulkeffly Noordin's nightmare is far from over.

The 53-year-old hawker and his family, who peddle foodstuff along Gurney Drive in Penang, now live in fear and are afraid to continue with their business as the alleged assailants are still on the loose.

Zulkeffly, a former policeman who served the force for 26 years, has accused the police of not acting on his complaints because it involved an Umno leader and a party member.

He related his ordeal at a press conference at the Penang Keadilan legal bureau today where he claimed his wife and daughter were assaulted in front of a food arcade by Umno Bagan Jermal division Youth chief Mohd Faddli Shaah and the village's committee member Mohd Haji Din on Oct 30.

Following this, the victim alleged that he was assaulted for a second time at the same place on Dec 13 by the duo.

Living in fear

"We fear for our lives and security. We are upset that until now no action has been taken by the police," he told malaysiakini when contacted later.

"I have been unable to do business for two months already. What is my family going to eat, how are we going to survive?" he lamented.

Zulkeffly claimed that his family and he were assaulted because he had been vocal about the concerns of hawkers in the area.

He alleged that Mohd Faddli had become aggressive when he had asked the Umno leader during a meeting why nothing had been done to improve the condition of hawkers despite collecting RM10 monthly from each stall.

According to Zulkeffly, hawkers in the area have been paying the sum for the past five years to the Bagan Jermal Hawkers Association, which is run by the Umno division.

Zulkeffly had lodged four reports on Oct 30, Dec 13 and Dec 17 with the Pulau Tikus police station.

When contacted, an officer there confirmed the reports but declined to comment beyond saying that the matter was still under investigation.

In his reports, the victim also stated that his car was damaged by the assailants.

Police criticised

When contacted after the press conference, Keadilan Penang legal bureau chief Jason Ong Khan Lee said the police must take the necessary action.

"This man has been thrown out of business and his survival is at stake. Justice must be seen to be done. It is the police duty to investigate and they must investigate fast," he said.

"We cannot allow people to throw their weight around and use force to intimidate others. If an ex-policeman cannot protect his family, what about ordinary people like us?" added the lawyer.

Penang Keadilan deputy chief Cheah Kah Peng, who was also present at the press conference, criticised the police for their inaction.

"If Penang police cannot handle this situation, then there is no standard of justice for the average Malaysians," he said in a telephone interview.

"There is also no security for business people to conduct their business if they can be forced, harassed, pushed away, beaten up and the attackers run scot-free," he added.

Allegation denied

Timur Laut district CID chief Hasnan Hassan rebutted Zulkeffly's claim that the police were practising double standards.

"This is all empty talk. We do not choose and we don't care. When a person has committed a crime, he is wrong, no matter where he comes from," he told malaysiakini

However, Hasnan refused to comment on the status of the investigation.

Meanwhile, Mohd Fadli when contacted denied that he had assaulted Zulkeefly but declined to say more.