A lorry driver says he was wrongfully detained for five days and repeatedly punched, kicked, stepped on, whipped and electrocuted.
KUALA LUMPUR: A lorry driver has accused Negeri Sembilan police of subjecting him to torture for five days, saying he was repeatedly punched, kicked, stepped on, whipped and electrocuted.
In a report lodged with the Negeri Sembilan police headquarters, 27-year-old S Sri Ramakrishnan of Bahau said he was wrongfully detained on suspicion of involvement with vehicle theft and that the torture was an attempt to extract a confession.
He told FMT the ordeal began sometime last month when friends told him that police were looking for him. He contacted Seremban police and was told to go to the headquarters on June 26.
"They didn't tell me for what reason," he said. "Nevertheless, I volunteered to go there on June 28."
On June 28, however, several policemen arrived at his home in Taman Sattellite. They were looking for R Thiagu, a cousin of Ramakrishnan's.
"I told them I did not know where he was, and they arrested me instead. They used brute force against me although I had agreed to be present at the police headquarters to give a statement."
Inside the police car, he said, he was assaulted by an officer the others called Apai. They took him to the Bahau police station, where the assault continued, he added.
"I was kicked, stomped on and punched repeatedly in my stomach. They even used electric shock on me and hurled abusive words about my family."
He was taken to the police headquarters in Seremban on June 30 where he was remanded for three days.
There, Ramakrishnan alleged, police officers told him to confess to theft, but he refused.
Lorry stolen
He told FMT that in March he had reported that the lorry he drove had been stolen. It was subsequently recovered, but without its cargo of fertilizers.
He said the police were trying to blame him for the theft.
"They threatened to seize my property and pack me off to Simpang Renggam detention centre if I did not confess. They tied up my feet and handcuffed me tightly, and hit me with a rubber hose on my feet."
He said the policemen also used jump cables to electrocute him. ""They clipped me on the ears and shocked me. It was so painful that I didn't care and just said, 'Okay, I did it.'"
However, he was released unconditionally on July 2.
"Suddenly, they just let me go when they heard that my brother had engaged a lawyer," he said.
He said the police had not returned his wallet, cellphone and other belongings and that he was considering filing a civil suit.
Police investigating the matter
Negeri Sembilan CID chief ACP Hamdan Majid confirmed receiving Ramakrishnan's report.
"We are investigating the case," he told FMT, but declined to give details.
Ramakrishnan's case was brought to the press's attention by Sri Sanjeevan, who heads the Astivaaram Foundation's Public Complaints Bureau.
"He was kept for more than 24 hours, over the maximum allowed time for arrest, before a remand order was obtained," he said. "That's illegal."
Sri Sanjeevan, who also heads the Negeri Sembilan chapter of the new party Kita, said he had handled seven cases of police abuse in the state.
Ramakrishan was the second person that police had allegedly assaulted in their search for R Thiagu. On May 28, lorry assistant S Devan lodged a police report claiming several plainclothes policemen had beaten him up when they were unable to locate Thiagu.
Devan said one of the officers shoved a gun into his mouth.
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