KUALA LUMPUR: Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) has urged the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to look into the cases of three civil servants detained under two separate security laws last year.
The three immigration personnel were held for 28 days under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) last November for alleged involvement in a human trafficking syndicate from 2014 to 2016. These men were then working under the Expat Service Division.
They were subsequently re-detained under the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca).
Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said the use of Poca after Sosma seemed to have become a new trend.
“This brings the total days under detention to 88, which is worse than the Internal Security Act,” he said, adding that this was a breach of their rights.
He claimed there had been instances of torture and abuse during interrogation under the security acts to obtain information from the detainees.
“In a separate case last year, a detainee’s private parts were burnt using a lighter during interrogation. This is the worst we have come across so far,” he said.
He added that the three immigration personnel were kicked and hit during interrogation.
The wife of one of the personnel, who wanted to be known as Sarah, said her husband was re-detained under Poca just 10 days after being released.
“The authorities told him he had to go back to the police station to sign some statements that they left out earlier. There, they detained him again,” Sarah, 48, told reporters in a press conference.
“When I visited him recently, he looked healthy, but he himself does not know why he is under detention.”
The wife of another of the three personnel, who called herself Mariah, said her husband had never even been released.
“After the first 28 days, he was immediately detained a second time under Poca for another 60 days,” the 34-year-old said, adding that he is due to be released next month.
Mariah said Sarah and their families were not the only ones suffering after their loved ones were re-detained under Poca when they should have been released or charged in court.
“Lower-ranking government servants have no choice but to follow instructions. If they were doing something unlawful, the instruction came from someone at the top,” she added.
In total, seven immigration personnel were detained under Sosma for investigation, but four higher-ranking officials were released.
“The three lower-ranking personnel were re-detained under Poca. Why is it that the higher-ranking officers, too, were not detained?” Sevan said.
Suaram urged Suhakam to collect documents from the police to determine why the three men are being held for so long.
Meanwhile, Suhakam commissioner Lok Yim Pheng, who accepted the memorandum of complaint, said the three personnel should have been charged immediately if they were found to have done something illegal, instead of being re-detained.
Sosma and Poca were among the draconian laws Pakatan Harapan had promised to repeal.
Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, however, recently announced that the government would keep the two security laws, but with some amendments.
“If the current laws are not maintained, there will be those who think they are free to do anything and threaten the country through gangsterism and terrorism,” Muhyiddin said. -FMT
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