Siti Kasim freed as court rejects remand application

The police's application to remand lawyer Siti Kasim for four days has been dismissed by the Kajang Magistrates Court.

"The police had submitted an application for a four-day remand, and after all the arguments (from the lawyers), the magistrate has rejected the remand application from the police.

"I would assume (the application was rejected) because the grounds were not made out by the police," lawyer Ambiga Sreenevasan said outside the Kajang courthouse today.

Ambiga said she was one of 12 lawyers acting for Siti, and declined to comment further.

Siti was arrested in the early hours of this morning after for alleged obstruction after police broke into her home to "rescue" her client who had been taking shelter there. 

Earlier today, the police said in a statement that they were forced to enter Siti's home to ensure that her 24-year-old client did not harm herself or others.

Police officers themselves had lodged reports against the lawyer over an earlier incident at the Kajang Hospital, when her client was undergoing a psychiatric evaluation.

Officers who were escorting the client said Siti had forced her way into the evaluation ward, despite security guards attempting to stop her.

The police extraction at Siti's house follows a report lodged by the client's mother claiming that her daughter was mentally unstable.

A woman claiming to the client's aunt later said that the mother has a history of abusive behaviour.

Reports lodged

The Selangor Criminal Investigation Department has since stated that Siti's client has been sent back to the hospital to resume the interrupted psychiatric evaluation.

Siti, who went to the Kajang police headquarters after her client was taken away, was arrested under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant in the discharge of his duties.

In a separate statement, police clarified that the raid at Siti's house was conducted under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing a public servant from discharging his duties and Section 363 of the same act for kidnapping.

"In a video which went viral and (which) said that the police have no power to arrest her (Siti's) client and her, the police would like to stress that all actions taken by the police are according to the law as provided under the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

"For your information, any investigations under Section 363 or 186 are crimes which usually results in arrests," Kajang OCPD Ahmad Dzaffir Mohd Yussof said in the statement today.

 - Mkini