Man stopped at roadblock 'unfairly charged' with obstruction - MP

 

Police personnel should be trained and equipped with principles of natural justice and human rights principles, said Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran.

This came after he received news of a case where a man was "unfairly" remanded and charged after attempting to record a police officer during a roadblock.

“Lately, a particular case was brought to my attention related to an experience of a Malaysian individual, Ng Chin Sheng, 30, who had to put up with inappropriate use of authority by the traffic police officer during a roadblock and the subsequent legal injustice the person had to endure.

“There was no clear offence in this case, but an agitated officer who abused his power for subjective reasons instead of objective criteria,” Kulasegaran said in a statement today.

The DAP lawmaker said Ng had been stopped during a roadblock inspection on Jan 2, 2022 in Butterworth, Penang, and the police officer had asked him for his identity card and licence.

While complying with the police officer, the man had decided to record the incident, which agitated the police who started scolding him aggressively, Kulasegaran said.

Ng was subsequently detained in a holding cell in the Butterworth police station, before being taken to a magistrate who gave a remand order of three days.

He was later charged at the Butterworth Magistrate Court under Section 186 of the Penal Code for obstructing public servants in the discharge of his public functions.

“Being a layperson, Ng had no legal knowledge and did not comprehend the seriousness and the consequences. Therefore, he was reasonably scared and confused as to what was happening.

“He pleaded guilty to the charge without even understanding what the charge meant nor the consequence of pleading guilty to that charge.

“Upon pleading guilty to that charge, he was fined RM4,000 in default of which he would be imprisoned for seven months. He paid the fine and was released the same day,” Kulasegaran said.

This case has revealed an abuse of power that has made the legal system oppressive, he added, as there was a guilty plea for an undisclosed offence which the accused did not do.

Ipoh Barat MP M Kula Segaran

Limited understanding of the Malay language

The Ipoh Barat MP added that there was also no way Ng had prohibited the police from conducting their duties and the man had shown no resistance or rudeness to the police officer.

Ng had also followed all the police’s instructions until he was released, he said.

Kulasegaran said Ng had a limited understanding of the Malay language and thus the failure to explain the charge in Chinese was unacceptable.

“It is obvious from this case there has been an abuse of police powers since the details of the offence were not clearly revealed rather than accusing Ng of obstruction of duties of a public servant.

“How such obstruction was conducted by the accused is not clear. Is it due to the video recording? If it is so, it cannot be construed as an offence that deserves a remand.” 

Kulasegaran said Ng had suffered psychological stress after being remanded for three days without access to legal means and having to plead guilty even though he committed no offence.

"This case shows that it is vital for police officers to be educated on human rights, especially during inspections, the basis of obtaining a remand order as well as the importance of giving the accused the right to legal representation.

“The question is are our police operatives aware of the principles of natural justice and trained on human rights principles?

“If this kind of behaviour of police is tolerated, many Malaysians who are unaware of their rights could be bullied into submission and made to pay heavy fines just because they are ignorant of their rights,” he added. - Mkini