Lawyer and activist Siti Kasim has been arrested for obstructing a public servant from discharging his duties after police had taken away a woman she had been sheltering at her home.
The arrest, broadcast on Facebook live, is allegedly in regards to one of Siti's clients.
The lawyer is accused of forcibly locking up the client at the former's home and it was initially thought that Siti was also arrested for suspicions of kidnapping her own client.
In another Facebook video, the client is heard saying "that's not true, she (Siti) did not kidnap me," from behind a half-opened door.
Siti had claimed in a Facebook posting on Thursday that her client was "abducted" by the Selangor Islamic Department (Jais) and police.
This followed reports purportedly lodged by the client's mother claiming her daughter was mentally unstable and that her "faith (aqidah) was in question."
In a tweet last night, Siti said police had "crashed" into her house, broke her door and took her client away.
"I am outraged at this violation and fear for...(her client's) safety. I am on the way to IPD Kajang with our team of lawyers and NGOs," she also tweeted.
A woman claiming to be the client's aunt told Malaysiakini that the client's mother allegedly has a history of abusive behaviour, including towards her siblings and their mother.
The client had reportedly moved out after allegedly being strangled by her mother.
Denied access to client?
Fearing reprisal from the mother, the aunt said that her niece decided to stay with Siti, whom she had been in contact with.
The aunt said that on Thursday, after being questioned by Jais, the client was taken to the Kajang Hospital for a mental health assessment and was released thereafter.
The client then reportedly sent out a distress message to her aunts and to Siti sometime around 8pm last night, saying someone was trying to break into Siti's Segambut Dalam home.
It was then that she taken away to the Kajang district police headquarters.
Sisters in Islam (SIS) programme manager Shareena Sheriff said Siti was attending a conference in Selangor when the incident occurred.
Shareena said that upon arriving at the Kajang district police headquarters, Siti was asked to enter a room with the police.
When she exited, the lawyer exclaimed that police had wanted to arrest her.
The client's aunt said neither she nor two other aunts present have been allowed to meet with their niece.
Siti has also allegedly been denied access to her client.
The Star, however, later reported that the lawyer was not arrested for kidnapping, only obstructing police.
It quoted Selangor CID chief Senior Asst Comm Fadzil as saying she was arrested under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his duties.
Malaysiakini has been unable to independently verify the police report lodged by the client's mother, or the claims made by Siti, her client and the latter's aunt.
Malaysiakini is contacting Kajang police for comment.
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