Mechanic: Why should I lie?

S Mogan claims that he has no reason to lie about being assaulted by police and Rela personnel.

KUALA LUMPUR: The 42-year-old mechanic who claimed to have been assaulted by the People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) personnel and policemen has defended his story, refuting the police’s version of what transpired.

Commenting on the police’s suggestion that he might have filed a false report, S Mogan told FMT that he had no reason to make up such a story.

“What can I do if they want to accuse me of lying? I don’t know. If my report was false how can my leg be broken? Why would I want to play with them? I don’t have anything against them. I didn’t know these cops before this. Which idiot would break his own leg just to do all this? Its not an old wound either,” he said.

Asked about the police records that showed that the three policemen Mogan had named earlier did not even come to work until 8am, he said:” Yes, before 8am there was a Malay cop and later only the three came. They all beat me.”

“If I hated the police, I could even say that the Kajang police beat me, but they didn’t touch me, they were very professional. One of them even gave me water and told me if it was up to him, he would release me because I did not look like a crook,” he added.

On the Rela personnel’s testimony that Mogan had ran off when he was spotted climbing into a TNB substation, Mogan said it was untrue.

“No, I did not run away, I surrendered myself to them. Why would I run, my car was parked there. Why would I run? I have done nothing wrong, I did not possess anything illegal. And why would I climb into a power station, if I touch that I will die, I am not so stupid to touch it or climb it,” he added.

Respected man in the neighbourhood

Mogan reiterated that he was not a criminal and that he was a family man who was well-known in his area in Balakong.

“Come and see my workshop, come to my neighborhood, everybody can testify what I do for a living. Nobody will say anyhing bad about me. I got two kids, I need to earn a living and that’s all I do. Yes I smoke, but I don’t even drink alchohol,” he said.

Asked about the police’s suspicion why he had lodged a report and gone to the hospital much later if his leg was really fractured, Mogan replied:”At first I did not know it was broken. My wife helped me put traditional medicine the first two days, it was not four days like the police said. Only when I went to the hospital did I know it was so serious.”

Yesterday, police revealed that the initial investigations on the alleged assault on Mogan showed discrepancies between his version and that of the law enforcers, indicating that he might not have been assaulted.

However, police had stressed that their investigations would not be closed until Mogan’s statement had been recorded..

On Feb 16, Mogan was allegedly subjected to hours of torture by law enforcement officers including having a gun pointed to his head to force a confession out of him.