Selangor CID chief Hadi Ho Abdullah said he was not under pressure or fear when he conducted the investigations that found no evidence of psychological or physical abuse against former Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Abdul Malek Hussin.

Even the fact that the charges involved allegations against former inspector-general of police (IGP) Abdul Rahim Noor had no bearing on his commitment to get to the bottom of the allegations, Hadi told the Kuala Lumpur High Court today.

Hadi also denied the suggestion by Abdul Malek's counsel R Sivarasa that he was unable to conduct an impartial investigation as he was among the key figures in the crackdown against reformasi activists then.

During the height of the reformasi movement, Hadi was the Kuala Lumpur deputy CID chief.

"I carried out the investigations (into the alleged abuse) to the best (of my ability), to (ensure) justice to all parties, and with a clear conscience," the senior police officer told Justice Hishamudin Mohd Yunus.

Hadi was testifying at the hearing of the RM30 million civil suit filed by Abdul Malek against the government, the IGP and special branch officer Borhan Daud.

On March 13, 1999, Abdul Malek filed a police report on the alleged trauma he endured five months earlier after his arrest in connection with the demonstrations that erupted in the wake of ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's sacking.

Abdul Malek claimed that he was forced to strip naked and drenched with water in an air-conditioned room, beaten more than 60 times to unconsciousness, sexually harassed and abused, forced to drink urine and threatened with an HIV/Aids virus injection.

He also testified that it was Abdul Rahim who had punched him because the blow had allegedly loosened his blindfold and allowed him to have a glimpse of the former police chief in the interrogation room.

At the previous hearing, Hadi said his investigations found that no such incidents had occurred and testified as to his seriousness in investigating the police report.

Anwar's black-eye probe

Today, Siavarasa also drew a comparison between Hadi's investigation and the internal investigation which failed to identify those responsible for the infamous 'black-eye' sustained by Anwar when in police custody.

Sivarasa: Do you agree that the investigation against Abdul Rahim ( left ) involving charges against (him) that he assaulted and injured Anwar had also failed when the inquiry was made internally within the Royal Malaysian Police?

Hadi: I don't know if the investigation failed.

Sivarasa: At the time of the investigation, the whole country knew the investigation failed because the investigation did not succeed in identifying who hit and injured Anwar. (Your statement) that you don't know whether the investigation failed is unreasonable.

At this point, senior federal counsel Kamarudin Mohd Said objected to Sivarasa's use of the phrase 'the whole country knew'.

However, his objection was overruled. Justice Hishamudin said it was "common knowledge that the police investigations into the beating of Anwar failed because the government had subsequently set up a royal commission of inquiry".

Hadi insisted that he was not in a position to know whether the police internal inquiry had failed or not as he was not privy to the investigation papers into that case.

Sivarasa: For the similar reason that the Anwar investigation failed, your investigation here was not effective and could not be effective.

Hadi: After a thorough and fair investigation, unfortunately, all the evidence, facts, and documents that were uncovered in the investigation could not prove the allegations (by Abdul Malek).

'Hands-on IGP'

Earlier, Sivarasa quizzed Hadi on his testimony that Abdul Rahim had, on the night of the alleged assault on Abdul Malek, been in the same building at the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters but was in a meeting with senior Special Branch officers.

To a question as to why the nation's police chief was meeting his junior officers at their office when the normal practice was for Abdul Rahim to be briefed at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman, Hadi said Abdul Rahim was a "hands-on" kind of person.

"It's not out of the ordinary at all for the IGP (Rahim). Throughout his years, he always went to the ground to meet with junior officers. He's a very hands-on kind of man," said Hadi.

Sivarasa then quipped that it was this 'hands-on' approach which landed Abdul Rahim into trouble.

"That's the very matter that is in Abdul Malek's police report, the complaint of the plaintiff is that Abdul Rahim was too much of a hands-on person," said the lawyer.