IGP urged to intervene in Sanjeevan's ninth arrest

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar has been urged to intervene in Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) chairperson R Sri Sanjeevan’s ninth arrest.

Civil society Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said this when presenting a memorandum to the police at the Bukit Aman police headquarters today.

“His (Sanjeevan's) ninth arrest was under the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca), which allows for detention without trial.

“In this case, the police have failed to charge Sanjeevan for any of his previous arrests,” Sevan said, as he read the memorandum aloud, outside Bukit Aman.

He urged Khalid to intervene in Sanjeevan’s arrest under Poca, and to stop the "violation of human rights" immediately.

The memorandum also asked for no additional arrests, and whether the police had enough evidence or not to charge Sanjeevan in court.

It also asked for an investigation into the irregularities that occurred in the eighth arrests, which have resulted in no charges.

Lastly, the memorandum demanded for the abolition of Poca and any other acts that allow for detention without trial.

Seven said that detention without trial was a serious violation of human rights, adding that that it went against the Federal Constitution, which guarantees freedom of movement as long as an individual has not been charged or convicted.

It also goes against Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is used as the guide for international laws, he said.

He said that Article 12 of the Asean Human Rights Declaration also forbids any Asean countries to detain someone without trial.

He reminded the police they had previously promised not to misuse Poca, especially on someone who is not a hardcore criminal.

Sanjeevan’s father, P Ramakrishnan (photo), said his son is not a hardcore criminal.

“My son hasn't committed or been charged in any court, so why are they using Poca?” he asked.

He demanded an explanation from the IGP over the use of Poca to arrest his son, adding that he is an old man with “nothing to worry” about.

Sanjeevan was first arrested at the Nilai toll plaza on June 22 following allegations that he extorted RM25,000 from a gambling den operator. His driver, a 26-year-old Indian national, was also arrested.

Since then, Sanjeevan had been arrested repeatedly under Sections 384 and 506 of the Penal Code, which deal with extortion and criminal intimidation respectively, before finally being arrested under Poca on July 10.

Prior to this, Sanjeevan had been vocal in speaking against corruption in the police force.

Sanjeevan was also in the news in 2013, after he was shot by unknown assailants while in his car but survived the attempt on his life.- Mkini