The Kuala Lumpur police said today that they viewed "very seriously" the allegations by a human rights lawyer that police were involved in his assault early this week, but blamed his refusal to provide a statement as the main factor hampering investigations into the case.

KL Chief Police Officer Mustafa Abdullah said it was 'pre-emptive' and 'unfair' for the complainant to claim that he has no confidence in the police when he has not provided a statement that would enable investigations to proceed.

"At this point, we do not know if there are any other witnesses unless he comes forward and tells us," he said.

Lawyer and human rights activist P Uthayakumar said he was assaulted and threatened at gunpoint by unknown male assailants on Monday.

He believes that the attack - which also saw his car windscreen and windows being smashed - is related to his vigorous advocacy of cases related to deaths in police custody and police shootings .

As a result, he said he has no confidence in the police to conduct a proper investigation into the matter. He asked instead that the Special Commission on the police step in and conduct an independent probe.

As a member of the Police Watch and Human Rights Committee, Uthayakumar's active involvement in police abuse cases often results in an acrimonious relationship between him and the police.

IGP asked to step in

Because of this, the Kuala Lumpur Bar Committee has asked the Inspector General of Police to set up an independent team of investigators to probe the case.

The most recent case championed by Police Watch involves a detainee of the Brickfields district police station, claimed by police to have escaped custody.

In that case, the detainee's family, Police Watch and Uthayakumar have rejected the police explanation as factually inconsistent, arguing that officers have a hand in the 24-year-old's disappearance.

Uthayakumar's assault case - which occurred in Bangsar - also happens to come under the jurisdiction of the Brickfields police.

When asked about this, Mustafa said there were no plans to take the case away from Brickfields, but added that his officers and Bukit Aman will be closely monitoring its progress.

He said the various items gathered from the crime scene have been sent for tests.