PKR member Chin Sin Pang was travelling in a car with party vice-president Chua Tian Chiang in Seberang Jaya last night when police allegedly halted the vehicle, dragged him out and assaulted him.

 

Chin, 55, claimed he was “roughed-up” by the police when he refused to delete the content of his mobile phone containing a video recording of the arrest of Chua , who is better known as Tian Chua.

Chin sustained a 1.75cm abrasion at the back of his head due to the altercation with the police.

 

He was later taken to the Seberang Perai Tengah (SPT) police headquarters (HQ) in Bandar Perda where his statement was recorded.

 

Chua was in Permatang Pauh last night when he was detained by police at about 11.40pm, while he was travelling along Jalan Tuna heading to Yayasan Aman, the party’s operations centre.

 

He was in the constituency to rally support for PKR’s candidate and president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who faces a four-cornered fight for the parliamentary seat’s by-election on May 7.

 

Other candidates are Umno’s Suhaimi Sabudin, PRM’s Azman Shah Othman and independent candidate Salleh Isahak.

 

‘Police rammed car’

 

Speaking to reporters outside the police HQ, Chin said he was at the back seat of the car with Chua when the vehicle was surrounded by two police cars and several motorcycles.

 

“The police stopped the car by bumping into it. Chua tried to ask them the reason for his arrest and where they would be taking him,” said the PKR Bandar Tun Razak division member.

 

“But the police pulled him roughly out of the car, pulled his hair and forcefully pushed him into one of their vehicle,” said Chin.

 

He said he tried to video Chua’s arrest with his phone but the police caught him doing it and asked him to delete the recording.

 

He was then forced into another car and taken to the SPT police HQ where they wiped clean his data without my permission.

 

“They returned the phone to me after recording my statement. (The phone) was empty of all my contact numbers, photos and Facebook messages,” he lamented.

 

Chin said police did not inform him of the reason for recording his statement.

 

He was also not aware of why Chua was being arrested and was taken to Kuala Lumpur.

 

‘Force led to bleeding’

 

Accompanying him outside the police HQ were PKR vice-president R Sivarasa, assemblypersons Cheah Kah Peng (Kebun Bunga), Lee Khai Loon (Machang Bubok) and T Jayabalan (Batu Uban).

 

Jayabalan, a medical doctor by profession, said that force had been applied to the back of Chin’s head, which led to slight bleeding.

 

Sivarasa condemned the police conduct as totally “unacceptable, outrageous and illegal”. 

 

“It is as if they were hunting down a criminal runaway. They behaved like armed bandits in uniform,” Sivarasa said.

 

“Tian Chua is an MP, he could have surrendered himself, there was no need to hound him like this,” he added.

 

“The police act of deleting all the contents of Chin’s telephone seems like an attempt to cover up the incident,” Sivarasa stressed.

 

Sivarasa said inspector-general of police (IGP) Khalid Abu Bakar should be responsible for the incident, and explain why his men acted in such a “rough” manner.

 

Initially, he was blocked from entering the police HQ but argued that he was there to lodge a police report.

 

“As I was busy arguing with the police, they (the police) quietly went past the gates, with Tian Chua inside their car. I suspect he is leaving for Kuala Lumpur,” Sivarasa said.

 

Aide also claims assault

 

Meanwhile, Chua’s aide Mohd Huraimi Mohd Husri, 18, also claimed he was assaulted by the police, who seized his mobile phone during the arrest.

 

“I was slapped, pushed to the ground, and told not to fight back,” said Mohd Huraimi, relating his ordeal to reporters.

 

It is believed that Tian Chua was detained for participating in the 20,000 strong anti-Goods And Services Tax rally held in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

 

Police had detained about 30 protestors, including opposition MPs and human rights advocate Ambiga Sreenevasan, but later released her as they failed to obtain a court order for further remand.