Seri Alam police deny 'parading' teenager, silent on handcuffs use

 

The Seri Alam district police have denied “parading” a teenage girl in handcuffs before the press during a remand process.

Seri Alam district police chief Mohd Sohaimi Ishak said the girl was brought to the Johor Bahru magistrate’s court with other suspects.

“We did not arrange for anyone nor photographers to be at the location to take photographs of suspects brought for the remand process,” he said in a statement today.

An internal investigation into a possible breach of procedures is ongoing, he added.

Sohaimi was referring to Muda human rights bureau chief Dobby Chew’s criticism of the police for using handcuffs and allowing the teenager to be photographed.

However, Sohaimi’s statement did not address the handcuffs claim.

In a press release yesterday, Chew said this was a violation of the Child Act 2001.

Muda human rights bureau chief Dobby Chew

“Section 83A(1) explicitly states that a child shall not be handcuffed unless it is an offence involving a grave crime or there was an attempt to resist or evade arrest.

“There was no indication (that the teenager) had in any way committed a grave offence or had resisted arrest," he added.

Chew said the treatment the teenager received during her remand process had allowed photographs of her to be proliferated without regard to her welfare and rights under the Child Act.

In response to Sohaimi’s statement, Chew today bemoaned the lack of explanation surrounding the use of handcuffs on the teenager.

Chew expressed disappointment, saying the explanation provided by Sohaimi only seemed to reinforce the idea that both the 22-year-old man and 17-year-old girl from Pasir Gudang, Johor were paraded.

“His (Sohaimi) statement suggested that the two were escorted through a common walkway, and there were no clear attempts by the police to forbid media personnel from approaching and taking photos of the two in handcuffs.“The statement also indicated that they were brought to court with other detainees, which raises further questions as to why a minor was transported with adults contrary to Section 85 of the Child Act 2001,” he said in a statement.

Section 85 provides for the separation of a child from adults while being detained in a police station. Therefore, Chew called for an investigation into the failure of the force to adhere to the standard operating procedure. 

“Muda strongly encourages the police to involve independent experts, such as the Child Commissioner and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, in the investigation of these violations and provide appropriate redress and support for those involved.“Flaws must be rectified to ensure no future recurrences of such mistakes or misconduct. 

“Mistakes and misconduct such as these will likely inflict long-term harm upon those involved and the police must acknowledge their roles and responsibilities in these situations, and be held accountable for any harm caused.” - Mkini