Court advises Sosma detainees alleging assault to lodge police reports

Summary

• Lawyer T Harpal Singh says the Klang High Court has advised detainees under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) who claimed assault to lodge police reports.

• He claims his clients were assaulted after they launched a hunger strike at the Sungai Buloh Prisons Complex.

• Suaram urges the Prison Department to suspend the prison director pending an investigation.

The Klang High Court has advised detainees under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) who claimed assault to lodge police reports.

Lawyer T Harpal Singh, who represents 15 of the 32 detainees in question, told reporters that the advice was given after his clients gave their statements in today's case management in front of High Court deputy registrar Hirman Ab Raub.

“All 15 of my clients gave oral statements on how they were assaulted, their injuries and those involved.

“Their statements were recorded by the court’s deputy registrar,” Harpal said outside of the court complex.

Also present were fellow lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan and Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy.

The detainees were arrested under Sosma on suspicion of being involved with an organised crime syndicate, known as Geng TR.

Allegations dismissed

On Feb 13, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail dismissed allegations that a detainee under Sosma in the Sungai Buloh Prisons Complex had been assaulted.

He said this after the detainee’s wife lodged a police report on the matter yesterday.

“This story came out yesterday and I received many questions. As a first step, I immediately contacted the Prison Department commissioner-general to check on the matter and report back to me.

“I have received a full report indicating the assault never happened,” he was reported as saying.

The alleged assault happened after some of the detainees launched a hunger strike in protest of the detention.

Hunger strike

Earlier, Harpal alleged that his clients were assaulted after they launched a hunger strike at the Sungai Buloh Prisons Complex.

Following the incident, the lawyer said he was asked by the prison warden to come there and defuse tensions.

“There was a riot in the jail and I was called in to calm the situation.

“But when I entered the prison complex to ask them to stop the hunger strike, I found some of them were assaulted and several had even been rushed to the Sungai Buloh Hospital,” he alleged.

Elaborating on today’s happenings, Harpal said the court had also directed all the detainees to be sent for immediate medical attention at the hospital.

“I’ve asked for them to be treated at the Sungai Buloh Hospital, not in the prison, to ensure they receive the necessary help,” he added.

‘Punched, kicked’

Rajesh, who is representing other detainees, alleged his clients were stepped on, kicked, punched and even beaten using the baton repeatedly.

“This is horrifying. No detainee should be assaulted in a civilised country just because they were on a hunger strike. The authorities must investigate this,” he stressed.

Rajesh also expressed concerns that the detainees may face hurdles in lodging the reports as it may affect those involved in the alleged assault.

Sevan urged the Home Ministry to intervene in the matter.

“The Prison Department is getting defensive. They are not even bothered to check on the allegations,” he asked.

Sevan added that while the prison warden claimed the detainees got rushed to the hospital due to their hunger strike, his team had found injuries on their bodies.

“And today, the court has heard us and we want the home minister to act. What would his reaction be?” Sevan asked.

He also urged the Prisons Department to take responsibility for the matter and suspend the Sungai Buloh prison director pending an investigation.

The court has set April 17 for case management, while the hearing is scheduled for 2026 - from Oct 15 to 30, and between Nov 2 and 6 and Nov 9 until 22.

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