DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng has reiterated calls for the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) to be abolished or significantly overhauled, after a 16-year-old girl was detained under that law in Kedah.
Although the teenager has since been released, the Bagan MP expressed serious concerns over the minor being detained, describing that “something is very wrong” if laws allow such cases to happen.
“This experience must be traumatic for the young girl and her mother. The teen suffered vomiting and developed skin allergies during her detention,” he said on Facebook today.
“Sosma must either be abolished or completely overhauled and amended to ensure compliance with the law, due process, and constitutional safeguards of human rights.
“The time to do it is now to prevent more abuses of power by the authorities,” he added.
Suspected ‘migrant smuggling’
Last week, the girl’s mother told Free Malaysia Today that her daughter had been detained at a roadblock near the Jitra toll plaza, on Jan 14, under suspicion of “migrant smuggling”.
The mother said a police officer informed her that her daughter had been taken into custody, along with the girl’s father and several other individuals, to be probed under Sosma and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
She also said that her daughter had been vomiting and suffered skin allergies after a week of detention.
Kedah police chief Adzli Abu Shah confirmed the arrest with FMT. The teenager was released on Friday (Jan 23), after nine days of detention.
‘Why exception not applied?’
Lim reminded that although Section 13 of Sosma generally prohibits bail for those detained under the act, exceptions were still allowed for women, children - including teenagers below 18 - and individuals with health issues.
“Serious questions remain as to why the exception provided under Section 13 was not applied when the 16-year-old girl is not only a minor below 18 but also a woman,” he said.
The DAP veteran added that the incident was “unfortunate” and “unacceptable”.
The move drew criticism from various quarters, including human rights group Suaram, which on Jan 22 called for the girl’s immediate release and for her to be moved into a Social Welfare Department shelter, or back into her mother’s care.
Suaram executive director Azura Nasron stressed that the girl, as a minor, should have been dealt with under the Child Act 2017, instead of being detained under Sosma’s “draconian provisions”.
She pointed out that the police are required to observe all statutory child safeguards, including producing the girl in a children’s court within 24 hours of detention.
Azura also reiterated calls for the government to urgently amend the Act, including by removing the 28-day detention without trial provision or restoring court oversight.
Previous calls to abolish Sosma
Last month, DAP lawmakers had also reminded the government of its initial promises to abolish or significantly reform the Act.
Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh said many provisions in Sosma are “contradictory to the government’s reformist agenda”, especially Sections 13 and 30.
Section 13 denies bail for individuals detained under Sosma, while Section 30 mandates the continued detention of individuals throughout the trial and appeals process, regardless of whether they have been acquitted.
In December, the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Human Rights, Election, and Institutional Reform had also recommended several amendments to the Act, including reviewing Section 4(5) on the 28-day pre-charge detention without judicial oversight. - Mkini
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