Klang Selatan top cop pledges to investigate 'torture' claims by Poca duo

The police have pledged to investigate allegations that a teenager and a mentally challenged man were tortured in detention to confess to a crime they did not commit.

When contacted, Klang Selatan district police chief Shamsul Amar Ramli said he would look into the reported allegations made by rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) that the two men, aged 24 and 18, were tortured by his personnel.

"We will investigate the allegations.

"If it was found that there was any misconduct, disciplinary action will be taken against officers or personnel involved," he told Malaysiakini.

Shamsul Amar also confirmed that the duo are currently remanded for further actions under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (Poca).

The Star yesterday quoted Suaram project coordinator Mohammad Alshatri as saying that the arrested duo were allegedly beaten to obtain a confession on several motorcycle theft cases.

Mohammad also said the men were also initially held without the knowledge of their families.

"Poca is a law reserved for hardcore criminals. What is the justification of the police to place them under Poca?"

Recounting their arrests, Mohammad said the duo left an internet cafe in the wee hours of April 6 to meet up with another friend, but they were subsequently beaten after being accused of stealing motorcycles and handed over to the police.

According to The Star, the duo's mothers were present during the press conference by Suaram yesterday and they recounted what was told to them by their sons.

The first mother said her son told her that he was repeatedly beaten with a pipe and was forced to admit to a crime he did not commit.

"Dealing with the police was also bad. When I asked for updates on my son's case, they did not care and treated us like a criminal's family," said the first mother who also urged authorities to release her son if he was not guilty of any crime.

"I hope if my son is not guilty, he will be released. Why are they remanding him without any evidence? It has been so long," she said.

The second mother, meanwhile, alleged her son's arm was beaten until his shoulder was dislocated, and that he was hung so the police could hit the soles of his feet and his head with a pipe.

She also claimed that police had said her son fell from the stairs, despite he himself insisting he was allegedly beaten.

In December 2017, G Ganeshwaran, 29, died in the custody of the same Klang Selatan lock-up. 

His family alleged that he had been beaten up in the lock-up which led to his death. However, a police spokesperson said that investigations showed that "there had been no criminal element involved, and there were no injuries on the victim's body".