Although the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) has been hailed for its recent moves to stem corruption by arresting several high-ranking officers and government servants, a human rights watchdog is not convinced.

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) today submitted a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to probe the agency over an alleged assault on a 21-year-old security guard.

sivanesan arutchelvan suhakam aca assault 120908 04 Led by S Arutchelvan, Suaram criticised the ACA for its officers' alleged assault on T Sivanesan between Sept 4 and Sept 9 in a detention room at Shah Alam.

Sivanesan, who was called up by the ACA on Sept 4 for allegedly receiving a RM30,000 bribe, was purportedly beaten up by four ‘unnamed’ officers who also forced him to confess he had received the money.

Submitting the memorandum to commissioners Asiah Abu Samah and Nazihah Mohamed Rus in Kuala Lumpur today, Arutchelvan said the ACA had abused its power in fighting corruption.

The memorandum accused the ACA of several offences including abuse of power, torture, blackmail, abuse, insult, racism, denying an individual’s rights to obtain a lawyer and taking the law into its own hands.

"When they arrested Sivanesan, they should have informed him that he had the right to remain silent and to hire a lawyer. But they took away all these rights and instead beat him up," said Arutchelvan.

sivanesan arutchelvan suhakam aca assault 120908 02 The officers, claimed Arutchelvan, hit Sivanesan with an iron rod wrapped in a newspaper until he lost consciousness.

"They wrapped the rod iron in a newspaper so that the injuries would not be so visible," he said.

After his horrifying ordeal, Arutchelvan said Sivanesan had to "falsely confess" to the crime as he could no longer stand the torture.

"They (the officers) put ice in his underwear and forced him to make a confession. This is very inhumane," Arutchelvan said, adding that the ACA officers had also used racist remarks against Sivanesan.

"This is very disappointing. I thought police officers and ACA officers were supposed to be colour-blind when it comes to arresting people," he said.

‘Boot marks still visible today’

Sivanesan, who was present at the press conference this morning, said he was handcuffed and stripped naked when he was beaten up.

"They had used the iron rod to beat me in the stomach, buttocks, hands and feet. They also kicked me in the stomach using their boots. The boot mark is still visible today. They also used a rotan to beat me in my private parts and my feet," he added.

sivanesan arutchelvan suhakam aca assault 120908 01 When asked if he could recognise the officers who had beaten him up, he replied, "Yes, I remember their faces but I do not know their names because they used code names to address each other."

Sivanesan was subsequently sent to the Shah Alam Sessions Court and released last Tuesday on a RM3,000 bail. He lodged a police report at the Shah Alam police station yesterday.

He has been ordered to appear in the same court on Oct 9 to face charges under Section 10 (a) (aa) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997.

Commenting on the matter, Suhakam Commissioner Asiah Abu Samah said that this was not the first case involving alleged ACA assault.

"We received several reports involving the ACA a couple of months ago on alleged assault but this is the first time we have received a memorandum," she said.

She however conceded that it would be a long process before the matter could be solved as the earlier reports are still being investigated.

Nevertheless, she assured Suaram and Sivanesan that Suhakam would look into the matter.