Family members of two men in police custody submitted a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) today accusing police of abuse of power and contempt of court.

Fatimah Begum, wife of Al-Amin Zulkernain and S Padmini, sister of S Samuel Raj, submitted their memorandum to Suhakam vice-chairperson Simon Sipaun at the commission’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Al-Amin, Samuel Raj and four others were originally arrested on July 27 under sections 365 and 385 of the Penal Code - which relates to kidnapping and abducting - and were remanded for four days without the knowledge of their families said their lawyer Francis Pereira..

police abuse suhakam pc 050808 francis pereira "(The police extended their remand because) the individuals were not informed of their rights [...] to inform a relative or a friend of their whereabouts as well as to consult with lawyers of their choice.

"Hence their appearance in court on July 28 (was) unrepresented by legal counsel," said Pereira ( right ) who was present at the Suhakam headquarters too.

At a following hearing on July 31, the men were represented by Pereira after both their families became aware of their remand through a newspaper report two days after their first court appearance.

Both the court appearances were at the Petaling Jaya magistrate’s court.

"The remand extension was then challenged by counsel and the magistrate then denied the extension of the remand and ordered that all six individuals be released," said Pereira.

Abused while in custody

However, when the remand order expired four days later the police refused to release them despite the court order and instead re-arrested the six under section 397 of the Penal Code which relates to gang robbery.

According to the lawyer, the re-arrest was based on police suspicion of their connection with a gang robbery allegedly involving a group of Indian men.

police abuse suhakam pc 050808 fatima begum "All the charges are completely unrelated," Pereira insisted.

The fate of the two men did not improve with their third trip to court on Aug 1, this time at Klang magistrate’s court.

The court released them, but the police immediately re-arrested them under the Emergency Ordinance which allows for a 60-day remand period.

On top of the legal discrepancies, the lawyer alleged that his clients were abused during custody.

"Physical abuse inflicted on the arrested persons in the name of the investigation (was) unlawful, and an abuse of police powers," said Pereira during a 30-minute press conference.

Al-Amin’s wife Fatimah Begum ( above ) said the arrest has left her family dysfunctional. With three children under the age of four, she said she they had a hard time dealing with their Al-Amin’s absence.

"My son keeps asking (for him) [...] I just say ‘father went to work’," said Fatimah with tears in her eyes.

‘Hospitals searched ’

police abuse suhakam pc 050808 s padmini When asked if she had spoken to her husband, she said she had but that he was not allowed to speak freely. "How can he speak? (All) he said is please get me out," said Fatimah.

Samuel’s sister Padmini ( right ) who lives in Cheras said that the family had searched hospitals and police stations before learning her brother had been detained.

"We had no idea what happened to him [...] he was supposed to return home for dinner that night and he never came," she said.

Sipaun said that the police action had infringed upon the fundamental liberties of the individuals.

"Not giving (them) an opportunity to defend themselves is not in keeping with the principles of human rights," said Sipaun.