An alleged victim of abuse and her lawyer have hauled the inspector-general of police (IGP) to court over the duo’s purported unlawful arrest nearly three years ago.
Anis Nur Izzaty Ruslan and outspoken social activist Siti Zabedah Kasim, better known as Siti Kasim, have filed legal action over their arrest in June 2018, after Anis Nur sought refuge in Siti Kassim’s house to escape from her allegedly abusive mother.
The duo’s originating summons seeks to compel the IGP and another defendant to reveal the names of the police officers involved in a series of alleged unlawful arrests involving the two women in June that year.
The second defendant is the government.
Anis Nur and Siti seek the full names, personnel numbers, positions and ranks of all the officers involved, in order to prepare further legal action over the alleged unlawful arrests.
On June 26, 2018, online news portal The Malay Mail reported an incident where the police detained the two women, following reports lodged by Anis Nur’s mother.
It was reported that the mother lodged reports over claims that her daughter was mentally unstable and that her "faith (aqidah) was in question."
It was reported that Anis Nur was picked up by police at Siti’s home and brought to Kajang Hospital, to check for mental illness, and that the lawyer was herself arrested in the process.
According to the cause papers sighted by Malaysiakini, the two women filed the originating summons at the High Court Registry in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 29.
In an affidavit in support, Anis Nur claimed that she was first unlawfully arrested by the police on June 21, 2018, following her meeting with religious officers at the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) in Shah Alam.
She claimed that she had been summoned by Jais, but during the meeting, instead of asking about religious matters, the religious authorities questioned her about her relationship with her mother and why she left home.
She claimed that upon the alleged unlawful arrest, the police took her to Kajang Hospital, where she saw her parents.
“I was forced to undergo certain medical tests against my will. Among the tests were a blood test, urine test and a brain scan. I was allegedly being checked for mental illness.
“I kept telling the doctors that I do not consent to the said tests and that there was nothing wrong with my health. The doctors proceeded with the tests nevertheless.
“I could not do anything more at that moment as there was heavy police presence around me," Anis said.
“The first plaintiff (Siti) then entered the emergency room to rescue me. I voluntarily left the hospital with the first plaintiff and followed her back to her residence,” she added.
However, she said, two days later (June 23 the same year) around 9.30pm, a police team raided Siti’s home and hauled her (Anis Nur) to the Kajang district police headquarters, despite her protest that she was living voluntarily at the lawyer’s home.
Anis Nur claimed that Siti, who was not at the house during the raid, had then come to the district police headquarters to try to meet her at around midnight (early hours of June 24).
She said that the police allegedly did not allow her to meet Siti, and instead the authorities had detained the lawyer.
“My statement was recorded by a police officer. I was then brought to Kajang Hospital and met with a doctor.
“I was eventually allowed to leave the hospital at around 5.30am (on June 24) and was asked to come back for a further appointment on June 28, 2018,” Anis Nur claimed.
In Siti’s affidavit in support, the lawyer claimed that the police arrested her on grounds that she had allegedly kidnapped Anis Nur and purportedly obstructed the police from carrying out their duty.
She claimed that upon her statement being recorded by the police, she was taken to the Semenyih police station lock-up, before being produced before the magistrate at the Kajang Magistrate’s Court around 9am (June 24).
“The police’s application for my remand was denied by the learned magistrate,” Siti contended.
With the matter having come up for e-review (online) case management before the High Court Registry in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, the legal action has been fixed for further case management at 12pm on Feb 23.
Both plaintiffs are represented by law firm Messrs Saha & Associates. - Mkini
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