When a contractor from Kedah diligently turned up on his own volition at the Kubang Pasu police station to assist in the probe of a rape case in December last year, little did he know he would face a worse tragedy that would scar him for life.

Zul Hilmi Abdul Rahman, 32, was remanded on the next day, Dec 12, and placed in a lock-up, where he said he was beaten senseless by three police personnel - two men and a woman - for two hours and left in pain, without medical attention.

Zul Hilmi turned up at the station, on Dec 11, after being told that the police needed him to assist in a rape case but he was instead detained and listed a suspect.

He later learnt that an unknown woman had lodged a police report stating that a car with his number plate was involved in the crime.

"I want justice because I was physically abused by the police, who wanted to force me to confess for a crime I did not commit," Zul Hilmi said when met at his home in Alor Setar last night.

"I was beaten under the feet with a thick, long PVC pipe, twice - 18 and 16 times - in two hours, on the first day of my stay in the lock-up," he said as he lay on his bed in pain, with his wife, Nur Adzleen Othman, beside him.

"All the time my hands were tied, they punched and kicked me, causing injuries to my legs, left shoulder, my scrotum and large intestines. I couldn't breathe," he said.

Not able to support the family

Zul Hilmi said the incident that took place on Dec 12 last year has rendered him invalid for the time being, and no longer work to support his family, including his parents and in-laws.

He used to earn between RM5,000 and RM6,000 a month as a private contractor but now has to rely totally on his wife, who works with the civil service.

Married two years ago, the couple has no children yet and was told by their doctor that they may have difficulty having children.

Nur Adzleen, 29, has lodged two police reports on the matter - on Dec 12 and 27 - at the Jitra police station, but has yet to see any action taken by the authorities to investigate.

On Dec 12, when she was allowed to see her husband, she was shocked to find him very weak, breathless and with swollen feet and bruises on his shoulder.

Zul Hilmi was only admitted to the intensive care unit of the Sultan Bahiyah Hospital on Dec 23, after he was released on police bail.

He underwent two surgeries for infection on his testicles and anus. His large intestines are also affected and he wears an colostomy bag.

'I can only sponge him everyday'

"He cannot bathe and I can only sponge him everyday. When I go to work, our parents take care of him," Nur Adzleen.

Asked if she had questioned the police about his condition, she said: "They avoided my questions".

"I want to see him get the justice he deserves. It is so unfair for this to have happened to my husband."

PKR's Alor Setar MP Gooi Hsiao Leung ( right in photo ), a lawyer by profession, said Zul Hilmi plans to sue the police for physical abuse and loss of income, since he may be incapacitated for life.

"This is the worst case of police abuse that I have seen. Until today, the police have not responded, nor have they come to take statements from Zul Hilmi or his wife," Gooi said, when met at the victim's house.

"When Zul Hilmi feels a little better, and if there is still no response from the police, we will take him to the state police headquarters, even if we have to carry him there," Gooi added.

He called on the police to launch an independent probe into the case, immediately.

Kedah Criminal Investigations Department head Assistant Commissioner Mohd Nashir Ya said Zul Hilmi was initially remanded to help in investigation into a rape and extortion case involving a 16-year-old student.

Mohd Nashir said Zul Hilmi was sent to Hospital Jitra on three occasions - on Dec 12, 18 and 22 - for check-up and was finally admitted at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital for treatment and surgeries, before being released on police bail on Dec 23.

"Investigation papers have been opened on allegations of police abuse while in custody, and we are probing the matter," Mohd Nashir was quoted by Sinar Harian as saying on Dec 31.