A 17-year-old student claimed he was physically assaulted by several plainclothes policemen while o­n his way home in Penang last Saturday.

Lee Kam Choon said he sustained injuries o­n various parts of his body and is currently undergoing treatment at a

private hospital in the neighbouring state of Kedah.

Report lodged

Lee lodged a report at the Air Tawar police station in Butterworth o­n Sunday, as he is planning to sue the police for violence and abuse of power.

A policeman at the station confirmed that the report had been lodged, but declined to comment o­n the matter.

Lee said he was "chased while riding his motorcycle and forced to stop by the road side" by about six men o­n motorcycles at Taman Robina, Telok Air Tawar at about 11.50pm.

He said he did not obey a order to stop because he thought they were robbers. He tried to avoid them and sped instead to Pantai Telok Molek, a few kilometres away.

However, o­ne of the men caught up with him and blocked his path with his motorcycle.

Lee said he lost his balance, crashed into the motorcycle and fell to the ground. His cousin, How Wai Nam, who was riding pillion, ran away.

The other men arrived, surrounded Lee and told him to stand up. When he did not, he was allegedly "kicked and punched" several times o­n the head and back.

Lee said he o­nly knew they were police personnel when he was "handcuffed and dragged" to the Butterworth police headquarters and summoned for breaking traffic regulations.

According to the teenager, he was not shown any official identification and the men were not in police uniform.

Lee was issued two tickets for not stopping at the junction, o­ne for a 'fanciful and tiny' registration number plate, and another for reckless riding.

His case was due to be mentioned at the Butterworth court this morning for contravening section 42(1) f the Road Traffic Act 1987.

Apology sought

Yesterday, Lee's father Hon Wai, 41, and uncle Pong Wai, 44, recounted details of the incident at a press conference.

Among those present were Keadilan supreme council member Cheah Kah Peng and community bureau liaison chief Peter Lim.

Hon Wai expressed anger and disappointment that his son had been treated in such "cruel fashion".

"My son has not done anything wrong, but was assaulted and summoned like a criminal. He has been accused of many things. If we don't take action, many others could suffer the same fate,' he said.

"We want an apology and demand that the offenders be brought to justice."

Pong Wai said he went to see Lee at the station about 2am o­n Sunday after receiving a call from him. The teenager was released o­n police bail about three hours later.

"When I asked permission to take him to the hospital, I was prevented from doing so by the police officer o­n duty," he claimed.

The family took Lee to the Kepala Batas hospital, near his home, for a full medical examination about 5pm o­n the same day, as he was feeling too ill to be moved earlier than that.

Later, his family took him to Hospital Pakar Metro in Sungai Petani, Kedah - near his uncle's home - because he continued to suffer headaches, breathing difficulties and body aches and pain.

A medical report signed by consultant general surgeon and paediatric surgeon Dr Ho Meng Kuang stated that Lee had "multiple bodily injuries affecting the back, right and left upper limbs, face and both ankles".

'Unacceptable conduct

'

Pong Wai further claimed he has been threatened by a senior police personnel and told not to pursue the case in court.

He said he was warned that the boy may be charged for carrying arms and that the police would counter-sue if the matter was not settled amicably.

"The officer said, 'If you take the matter to court, you will see what will happen to you'..." Pong Wai alleged.

Cheah ( left ), a lawyer, questioned why the men had not shown official identification and why they were not wearing uniforms.

He said their actions were "unacceptable, violent and contravened the law".

"We urge the Penang police chief to immediately investigate the matter, be transparent and reveal the result of the investigation to the public," he said.

"We also urge Penang Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon - as head of the state's security council - to look into this urgently."

Echoing his concerns, Lim, who is Keadilan Nibong Tebal branch deputy chief, said the police should not abuse their power or act like "gangsters".

Lim, who heads the party's Seberang Perai call-in service team, said as members of the uniformed corps, the police must show they are disciplined.