Malaysian lock-up detainee abuse scandal
Encyclopedia
The Malaysian lock-up detainee abuse scandal (also known as Squatgate) is a scandal involving the abuse allegations of detainees (initially Chinese
citizens) under the care of the Royal Malaysian Police
which occurred in 2005.
The scandal began with complaints from two Chinese
female citizens about being stripped, having their breast
s groped
, and being forced to do squat
s (this has been described as 'ear squats' in most reports, meaning they were touching their ears as they did squats). Member of Parliament
(MP) Teresa Kok
of the Democratic Action Party accompanied one of them to lodge a police report. Later that month, Kok was given a video compact disc (VCD) by an anonymous whistle-blower that contained a video depicting a female police officer ordering a female detainee, now identified as Hemy Hamisa Abu Hassan Saari, do ear squats in the nude. Kok later showed the video to some other MPs, triggering shock and outrage.
Prime Minister
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
insisted that there would be no cover-up, and his deputy, Najib Tun Razak
, said the same. Initially the federal Deputy Inspector General, Musa Hassan
, made remarks to a similar effect, but also defended the ear squats as "standard procedure". He later stated, "It is the perpetrator behind the video clip whom we are after and not the policewoman, who was carrying out a routine check." His comments led the leaders of all three opposition parties and an MP from the ruling Barisan Nasional
coalition to call for Musa's resignation or dismissal. Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar
also stirred up controversy when he told foreigners upset about the scandal to "go home". He later made an apology, saying that he was misunderstood. However a recording of his remarks indicated that he was not misquoted or taken out of context. An independent commission was later set up under Abdullah's orders to investigate the scandal.
, Yu Xuezhen, went public with the story of her alleged abuse. According to her, she was travelling in a car with another Chinese national on November 3 when they were detained at a police roadblock because their passport
s were allegedly invalid. The policeman then demanded a RM
500 bribe from them. The housewife later said, "Since both of us were carrying valid passports, we refused to give the policeman anything. We were then taken to the police station." She claimed that at the police station, a policewoman took RM50 from her purse
and divided it among four police officers.
Then during a body search there, she was instructed to strip and that "A policewoman grabbed my breast and slapped me when I blushed. I was then forced to take off my undergarments and do five ear squats." She also alleged that a policeman peeped into the room through an open door, and that the door was only shut tight when she screamed.
When her husband later arrived with their marriage certificate, the police officer at the station refused to accept it as genuine. The women were released four days later after the Immigration Department confirmed their passports were real. The woman lodged a complaint with the police the next day, but insisted on anonymity
.
In another unrelated case, a remisier
with a wife from China was asked for a bribe by a police officer so that the process of confirming her passport could be sped up.
s was visible. The poor quality of the clip indicated it had been recorded by a mobile phone
. Well-known Malaysian blog
ger Jeff Ooi
immediately compared the scandal to the Abu Ghraib scandal in Iraq
where United States
military personnel forced prisoners to strip and abused them.
The video clip with the name gadis lokap (lady in custody, literally 'lock-up girl' in Malay) was distributed among the public in the form of a Multimedia Messaging System (MMS) clip. Initially some thought the clip to have been faked in an attempt to shame the police force, but the clip was later confirmed to have been filmed at the police headquarters in Petaling Jaya
, Selangor
. The Malay
officer, identified as a constable
, was identified and had her version of the events recorded by the police. On November 29, 2005, it was reported in the local newspapers that the woman is a Malaysian who was detained during a drug raid at a nightspot, and who was later charged in court over a drug-related offence. On December 13, 2005, the woman, identified as a 22-year old Malay who was three-months pregnant, testified before the Commission of Inquiry probing the incident.
In November 2006, a Washington Post front page article reporting on the case identified the woman as Hemy Hamisa Abu Hassan Saari, a 23-year-old Malaysian babysitter.
to travel to China to improve Malaysia's image there. Reportedly, the number of Chinese tourists had been dropping over the past few months, and it was feared the abuse scandal would further exacerbate the situation. It was later revealed that the Cabinet directed Azmi to go on the trip before the scandal blew open.
When the video clip broke, the Prime Minister immediately insisted that "There should be no cover-up at all," while his Deputy stated "It should not have happened." Azmi also declared, "If police personnel are really involved, then this is police abuse." Lim Keng Yaik
, a Minister and the leader of the Gerakan
party, called for the establishment of a Police Complaint and Misconduct Commission. Abdullah later announced an independent body would be set up to investigate the scandal.
. Musa also stated that such actions are standard fare and are used to examine body cavities for possible contraband. The police began their investigation by quizzing staff of the China Press
, which had also independently obtained footage of the incident. They also attempted to determine the identity of the detainee by blowing up some stills from the video and having them distributed to prisons and immigration detention centres. Azmi promised that the woman would be protected if she came forth to provide evidence, whatever her legal status.
The New Sunday Times
confirmed Musa's claim that strip searches were standard police procedure carried out after being arrested. The squats were used to dislodge objects possibly concealed in body orifices, and in some cases, detainees were hosed with strong jets of water to dislodge material hidden in their hair. The New Sunday Times also reported that only officers of the same sex as the detainee were permitted to examine him or her and that officers of the opposite sex would not be allowed in the room where the examination was going on. However, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had earlier denied that strip searches were part of standard police procedure and that "There is no reason to embarrass and humiliate people in that manner." The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was told by doctors that performing ear squats was an inefficient means of examination and could not dislodge anything hidden in the vagina
or rectum
. The leaders of three opposition parties — the DAP, PAS
and Parti Keadilan Rakyat
(PKR) — immediately called for Musa's dismissal.
The next day, the weekday edition of the newspaper, the New Straits Times, reported that although such procedures were permitted by the standard operating procedures of the police, the Lock-up Rules 1953 did not permit a body cavity search nor ear squats for any purpose. This would thereby make it illegal for the police to employ such procedures after making an arrest.
told the press "I dare say everything was done following the rules. ... If the law does not provide for it, ask the lawyers to sue the Government and summon the police." He promised to elaborate at Parliament the following day, but as Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat
Ramli Ngah Taib did not permit discussion of the incident, he was unable to. However, he did tell the press "If the orang asing (foreigners) think we are zalim (cruel), ask them to go back to their own country." Most media outlets, many of which are owned by political parties in the governing Barisan Nasional
coalition, did not report these comments after being reportedly told not to by the Prime Minister's office, but the comments received coverage in the evening edition of some local newspapers and many foreign ones.
The Chinese embassy requested Malaysia probe the assault cases further. Later, Noh made what the BBC described as a "grudging" apology; he stated "What I meant was Malaysia is a safe country. If foreigners think our police are cruel and the country is not safe, then they would have gone back home long time ago. I did not tell them to go back." The BBC also construed his comments as "a direct challenge" to the Prime Minister. Reportedly, Abdullah reprimanded Noh, who at first denied he had told anyone to "go back".
triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
and the opening of other travel destinations.
(the upper house of Parliament
), asked that Kok and Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang be referred to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges for "causing confusion" and making groundless accusations based on allegedly misleading information. It was also contended that Kok's showing of the video clip had shamed the woman's modesty. Some also said that Azmi's China visit was for nothing, as the gadis lokap was a Malay, and argued that Lim and Kok deserved to be punished for causing an unnecessary trip. However, Deputy Internal Security Minister Chia Kwang Chye insisted that Azmi's visit was not to apologise for the video clip in question.
Earlier, some had accused Kok of breaking the law pertaining to the display of pornographic material, which could lead to imprisonment. However, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz insisted that Kok's actions were not in violation of the law.
gers (including Lim) and independent journalist
s postulated that this information had been hidden to avoid giving the opposition party PAS
ammunition for its campaign in the Pengkalan Pasir by-election
that was eventually won by Barisan Nasional
, which currently controls the federal government.
Later Abdullah stated that if the police had revealed the woman's race or nationality, they would have been accused of trying to cover up the scandal, and that nobody would have believed them. Kok told media, however, that many of her constituents appeared to also disbelieve that the woman was in fact a Malay, and asked her about it. At the end of 2005, two editors at the China Press
, which had initially identified the woman as a Chinese national, resigned over the issue.
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) expressed concern about the reported incidents of abuse but noted that such incidents were not uncommon. One spokesperson for Suaram
said "One of the most common-place police abuses is to harass women by getting them to undress. This isn't something totally strange or alien that people can't associate with the Malaysian police." Another said, "In the past those leaders have condoned these sorts of attitudes as the norm — naturally the rest of the population think it's OK."
The Royal Commission on the Police that released its report earlier in 2005 also noted incidents of ear squats in the nude were common police procedure, despite being a breach of regulations. The commission recommended a code of practice that would not permit these cases to be included as part of the Standing Orders of the Inspector-General of Police.
Raja Petra Kamaruddin, a member of the Selangor
Royal Family and a prominent member of the opposition, lambasted the government for only noticing such abuses now. He claimed he and his wife had both been stripped and hit by police personnel when they were detained, and called it "accepted practice in Malaysian lockups." Raja Petra argued that the government was only bothering to take action because the economy, which is reliant on tourism, would be impacted by the reports of abuse.
On November 28 a Malaysian woman, Norazimah Nor came to the Parliament
lobby
to notify the members that she and 8 other women were forced to strip and do 100 naked push-ups in the Kapar
police lockup on November 5, 2000. Media organizations sympathetic to Malaysian opposition parties as well as independent media like Malaysiakini
cited her case as a reason to suspect the government's interest in the Chinese abuse cases was due more to tourist money instead of concern over human rights. Norazimah had been detained for attending an assembly organised by the opposition Barisan Alternatif
.
Their goals were to determine if the woman in the clip was one of five Chinese nationals who had filed complaints about police abuse, probe the procedure of body search shown, determine if there was any impropriety in the manner the search was conducted, investigate the police Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the regulations concerning body searches, and recommend amendments or alterations to these rules. Abdullah gave the commission 30 days to prepare its report.
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
citizens) under the care of the Royal Malaysian Police
Royal Malaysian Police
The Royal Malaysia Police is a part of the security forces structure in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organization with responsibilities ranging from traffic control to intelligence gathering. Its headquarters is located at Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur. The police force is led by an...
which occurred in 2005.
The scandal began with complaints from two Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
female citizens about being stripped, having their breast
Breast
The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...
s groped
Groping
When used in a sexual context, groping is touching or fondling another person in a sexual way using the hands; it generally has a negative connotation, and is considered molestation in most societies. The term 'frotteurism' may be applied when a person rubs up against another person, typically...
, and being forced to do squat
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
s (this has been described as 'ear squats' in most reports, meaning they were touching their ears as they did squats). Member of Parliament
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....
(MP) Teresa Kok
Teresa Kok
Teresa Kok Suh Sim is a Malaysian Member of Parliament from the Democratic Action Party .-Background:Born and bred in Kuala Lumpur, Teresa is a second-generation Malaysian of Chinese descent. Kok is a member of the Hakka dialect group and her ancestors were from Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China....
of the Democratic Action Party accompanied one of them to lodge a police report. Later that month, Kok was given a video compact disc (VCD) by an anonymous whistle-blower that contained a video depicting a female police officer ordering a female detainee, now identified as Hemy Hamisa Abu Hassan Saari, do ear squats in the nude. Kok later showed the video to some other MPs, triggering shock and outrage.
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
Tun Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi is a Malaysian politician who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2009. He was also the President of the United Malays National Organisation , the largest political party in Malaysia, and led the governing Barisan Nasional parliamentary coalition...
insisted that there would be no cover-up, and his deputy, Najib Tun Razak
Najib Tun Razak
Dato' Sri Haji Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak is the sixth, and since 2009, Prime Minister of Malaysia. He previously held the post of Deputy Prime Minister from 7 January 2004 until he succeeded Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Prime Minister on 3 April 2009. Najib is President of the United...
, said the same. Initially the federal Deputy Inspector General, Musa Hassan
Musa Hassan
Tan Sri Musa Hassan is former Malaysia's Inspector-General of Police. He has served with the Royal Malaysian Police for 41 years.- Inspector-General of Police :...
, made remarks to a similar effect, but also defended the ear squats as "standard procedure". He later stated, "It is the perpetrator behind the video clip whom we are after and not the policewoman, who was carrying out a routine check." His comments led the leaders of all three opposition parties and an MP from the ruling Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
coalition to call for Musa's resignation or dismissal. Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh Omar
Noh Omar
Datuk Seri Noh bin Omar is a Malaysian politician. He is the current Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry and the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Tanjong Karang constituency in Selangor...
also stirred up controversy when he told foreigners upset about the scandal to "go home". He later made an apology, saying that he was misunderstood. However a recording of his remarks indicated that he was not misquoted or taken out of context. An independent commission was later set up under Abdullah's orders to investigate the scandal.
Early accusations
The first indications of abuse came in early November, when a Chinese housewifeHousewife
Housewife is a term used to describe a married woman with household responsibilities who is not employed outside the home. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household...
, Yu Xuezhen, went public with the story of her alleged abuse. According to her, she was travelling in a car with another Chinese national on November 3 when they were detained at a police roadblock because their passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
s were allegedly invalid. The policeman then demanded a RM
Ringgit
Ringgit mostly refers to the Malaysian ringgit, which is the local currency in Malaysia, but it can also refer to the Brunei dollar or Singapore dollar in the Malay language. The word ringgit was originally used to refer to the serrated edges of Spanish silver dollars widely circulated in the area...
500 bribe from them. The housewife later said, "Since both of us were carrying valid passports, we refused to give the policeman anything. We were then taken to the police station." She claimed that at the police station, a policewoman took RM50 from her purse
Handbag
A handbag, or purse in American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag that is often fashionably designed, typically used by women, to hold personal items such as wallet/coins, keys, cosmetics, a hairbrush, pepper spray, cigarettes, mobile phone etc....
and divided it among four police officers.
Then during a body search there, she was instructed to strip and that "A policewoman grabbed my breast and slapped me when I blushed. I was then forced to take off my undergarments and do five ear squats." She also alleged that a policeman peeped into the room through an open door, and that the door was only shut tight when she screamed.
When her husband later arrived with their marriage certificate, the police officer at the station refused to accept it as genuine. The women were released four days later after the Immigration Department confirmed their passports were real. The woman lodged a complaint with the police the next day, but insisted on anonymity
Anonymity
Anonymity is derived from the Greek word ἀνωνυμία, anonymia, meaning "without a name" or "namelessness". In colloquial use, anonymity typically refers to the state of an individual's personal identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown.There are many reasons why a...
.
In another unrelated case, a remisier
Remisier
A remisier is an agent of a stockbroking company and receives a commission for each transaction handled...
with a wife from China was asked for a bribe by a police officer so that the process of confirming her passport could be sped up.
Abuse video
On November 25, the existence of the video recording of a female detainee, apparently of Chinese ethnicity, being forced to do ear squats in the nude was made public. As the woman turned to face the camera, one of her nippleNipple
In its most general form, a nipple is a structure from which a fluid emanates. More specifically, it is the projection on the breasts or udder of a mammal by which breast milk is delivered to a mother's young. In this sense, it is often called a teat, especially when referring to non-humans, and...
s was visible. The poor quality of the clip indicated it had been recorded by a mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
. Well-known Malaysian blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ger Jeff Ooi
Jeff Ooi
Ooi Chuan Aun , better known as Jeff Ooi, is a Malaysian IT consultant by profession, blogger, photographer and politician. He is currently the Member of Parliament for Jelutong in the 12th Malaysian Parliament.He is a well known for his criticism of Muslims and Islam in Malaysia...
immediately compared the scandal to the Abu Ghraib scandal in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
where United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
military personnel forced prisoners to strip and abused them.
The video clip with the name gadis lokap (lady in custody, literally 'lock-up girl' in Malay) was distributed among the public in the form of a Multimedia Messaging System (MMS) clip. Initially some thought the clip to have been faked in an attempt to shame the police force, but the clip was later confirmed to have been filmed at the police headquarters in Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya is a Malaysian city originally developed as a satellite township for Kuala Lumpur comprising mostly residential and some industrial areas. It is located in the Petaling district of Selangor with an area of approximately 97.2 km². On 20 June 2006, Petaling Jaya was granted a...
, Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
. The Malay
Malay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
officer, identified as a constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
, was identified and had her version of the events recorded by the police. On November 29, 2005, it was reported in the local newspapers that the woman is a Malaysian who was detained during a drug raid at a nightspot, and who was later charged in court over a drug-related offence. On December 13, 2005, the woman, identified as a 22-year old Malay who was three-months pregnant, testified before the Commission of Inquiry probing the incident.
In November 2006, a Washington Post front page article reporting on the case identified the woman as Hemy Hamisa Abu Hassan Saari, a 23-year-old Malaysian babysitter.
Response
After the first reports of abuse broke, the Prime Minister ordered Home Minister Azmi KhalidAzmi Khalid
Dato' Seri Azmi Khalid is a Member of Parliament in Malaysia for the constituency of Padang Besar in Perlis. He is a member of UMNO in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition....
to travel to China to improve Malaysia's image there. Reportedly, the number of Chinese tourists had been dropping over the past few months, and it was feared the abuse scandal would further exacerbate the situation. It was later revealed that the Cabinet directed Azmi to go on the trip before the scandal blew open.
When the video clip broke, the Prime Minister immediately insisted that "There should be no cover-up at all," while his Deputy stated "It should not have happened." Azmi also declared, "If police personnel are really involved, then this is police abuse." Lim Keng Yaik
Lim Keng Yaik
Tun Dr. Lim Keng Yaik is a former Malaysian politician and former Minister of Energy, Water and Communications in the Malaysian cabinet. He was the national president of Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia from 1980 until stepping down on April 8, 2007 to pave the way for Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon...
, a Minister and the leader of the Gerakan
Gerakan
Gerakan, meaning movement in Malay, can refer to:*the Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia, a Malaysian political party*the Gerakan Pramuka Indonesian Scout movement...
party, called for the establishment of a Police Complaint and Misconduct Commission. Abdullah later announced an independent body would be set up to investigate the scandal.
Defense of the police
Deputy Inspector General of the Police (IGP) Musa Hassan also initially promised that the perpetrators would be punished, but later stated "It is the perpetrator behind the video clip whom we are after and not the policewoman, who was carrying out a routine check," and that whoever filmed it would be charged under the Penal Code with insulting the woman's modesty, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in jailPrison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
. Musa also stated that such actions are standard fare and are used to examine body cavities for possible contraband. The police began their investigation by quizzing staff of the China Press
China Press
China Press is a Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper set up by Tun Henry Lee Hau Shik and first published on 1 February 1946....
, which had also independently obtained footage of the incident. They also attempted to determine the identity of the detainee by blowing up some stills from the video and having them distributed to prisons and immigration detention centres. Azmi promised that the woman would be protected if she came forth to provide evidence, whatever her legal status.
The New Sunday Times
New Straits Times
The New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print , having been founded as The Straits Times in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1965. The paper served as Malaysia's only broadsheet format English...
confirmed Musa's claim that strip searches were standard police procedure carried out after being arrested. The squats were used to dislodge objects possibly concealed in body orifices, and in some cases, detainees were hosed with strong jets of water to dislodge material hidden in their hair. The New Sunday Times also reported that only officers of the same sex as the detainee were permitted to examine him or her and that officers of the opposite sex would not be allowed in the room where the examination was going on. However, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had earlier denied that strip searches were part of standard police procedure and that "There is no reason to embarrass and humiliate people in that manner." The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was told by doctors that performing ear squats was an inefficient means of examination and could not dislodge anything hidden in the vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
or rectum
Rectum
The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the gut in others, terminating in the anus. The human rectum is about 12 cm long...
. The leaders of three opposition parties — the DAP, PAS
PAS (political party)
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party commonly known as PAS or Pas, is an Islamist political party in Malaysia and is currently headed by Dato' Seri Abdul Hadi Awang...
and Parti Keadilan Rakyat
Parti Keadilan Rakyat
The People's Justice Party , often known simply as KeADILan) is a centrist political party in Malaysia formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party...
(PKR) — immediately called for Musa's dismissal.
The next day, the weekday edition of the newspaper, the New Straits Times, reported that although such procedures were permitted by the standard operating procedures of the police, the Lock-up Rules 1953 did not permit a body cavity search nor ear squats for any purpose. This would thereby make it illegal for the police to employ such procedures after making an arrest.
Controversial comment by Cabinet member
The same day, Deputy Internal Security Minister Noh OmarNoh Omar
Datuk Seri Noh bin Omar is a Malaysian politician. He is the current Minister for Agriculture and Agro-based Industry and the Member of the Parliament of Malaysia for the Tanjong Karang constituency in Selangor...
told the press "I dare say everything was done following the rules. ... If the law does not provide for it, ask the lawyers to sue the Government and summon the police." He promised to elaborate at Parliament the following day, but as Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat
Dewan Rakyat
The Dewan Rakyat is the lower house of the Parliament of Malaysia. All bills must usually be passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara , before they are given Royal Assent by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong...
Ramli Ngah Taib did not permit discussion of the incident, he was unable to. However, he did tell the press "If the orang asing (foreigners) think we are zalim (cruel), ask them to go back to their own country." Most media outlets, many of which are owned by political parties in the governing Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
coalition, did not report these comments after being reportedly told not to by the Prime Minister's office, but the comments received coverage in the evening edition of some local newspapers and many foreign ones.
The Chinese embassy requested Malaysia probe the assault cases further. Later, Noh made what the BBC described as a "grudging" apology; he stated "What I meant was Malaysia is a safe country. If foreigners think our police are cruel and the country is not safe, then they would have gone back home long time ago. I did not tell them to go back." The BBC also construed his comments as "a direct challenge" to the Prime Minister. Reportedly, Abdullah reprimanded Noh, who at first denied he had told anyone to "go back".
Azmi's China visit
In December, Azmi Khalid visited China as had been planned. Azmi expressed sadness about the incident, but did not apologise, and called the squats standard procedure. Azmi was in China to investigate the root causes of the drop in the number of Chinese visitors to Malaysia. Some of his aides stated that it appeared to be due to concern over the tsunamiTsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
triggered by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
and the opening of other travel destinations.
Parliamentary backlash
After it was revealed that the gadis lokap was a Malay, several Senators, or members of the Dewan NegaraDewan Negara
The Dewan Negara is the upper house of the Parliament of Malaysia. The Dewan Negara consists of 70 members, of which 26 are indirectly elected by the states, with two senators for every state in the Federation, and the other 44 being appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong .The Dewan Negara...
(the upper house of Parliament
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....
), asked that Kok and Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang be referred to the Parliamentary Committee of Privileges for "causing confusion" and making groundless accusations based on allegedly misleading information. It was also contended that Kok's showing of the video clip had shamed the woman's modesty. Some also said that Azmi's China visit was for nothing, as the gadis lokap was a Malay, and argued that Lim and Kok deserved to be punished for causing an unnecessary trip. However, Deputy Internal Security Minister Chia Kwang Chye insisted that Azmi's visit was not to apologise for the video clip in question.
Earlier, some had accused Kok of breaking the law pertaining to the display of pornographic material, which could lead to imprisonment. However, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz insisted that Kok's actions were not in violation of the law.
Detainee's race
Initially it was thought that the detainee filmed doing ear squats in the nude was a Chinese national. However, it was later revealed that she was in fact a Malay citizen of Malaysia. On December 16 Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak insisted that neither he nor Prime Minister Abdullah was made aware of this until it became public. Noh, too, denied that he knew of the detainee's race or nationality until it was made public. Some opposition blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
gers (including Lim) and independent journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s postulated that this information had been hidden to avoid giving the opposition party PAS
PAS (political party)
The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party commonly known as PAS or Pas, is an Islamist political party in Malaysia and is currently headed by Dato' Seri Abdul Hadi Awang...
ammunition for its campaign in the Pengkalan Pasir by-election
Pengkalan Pasir by-election, 2005
The Pengkalan Pasir by-election was held on December 6, 2005 in the Pengkalan Pasir state assembly constituency of the PAS-governed state of Kelantan, Malaysia...
that was eventually won by Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
, which currently controls the federal government.
Later Abdullah stated that if the police had revealed the woman's race or nationality, they would have been accused of trying to cover up the scandal, and that nobody would have believed them. Kok told media, however, that many of her constituents appeared to also disbelieve that the woman was in fact a Malay, and asked her about it. At the end of 2005, two editors at the China Press
China Press
China Press is a Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper set up by Tun Henry Lee Hau Shik and first published on 1 February 1946....
, which had initially identified the woman as a Chinese national, resigned over the issue.
Other organisations
The Parliamentary Human Rights Caucus, led by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Aziz, also condemned the abuse of the prisoner, with Nazri saying he was "disgusted" by the incident. Human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) expressed concern about the reported incidents of abuse but noted that such incidents were not uncommon. One spokesperson for Suaram
Suaram
SUARAM, or Suara Rakyat Malaysia, is a human rights organization in Malaysia created in 1987 after Operation Lalang, when 106 opposition, unions, activist leaders were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act...
said "One of the most common-place police abuses is to harass women by getting them to undress. This isn't something totally strange or alien that people can't associate with the Malaysian police." Another said, "In the past those leaders have condoned these sorts of attitudes as the norm — naturally the rest of the population think it's OK."
The Royal Commission on the Police that released its report earlier in 2005 also noted incidents of ear squats in the nude were common police procedure, despite being a breach of regulations. The commission recommended a code of practice that would not permit these cases to be included as part of the Standing Orders of the Inspector-General of Police.
Raja Petra Kamaruddin, a member of the Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
Royal Family and a prominent member of the opposition, lambasted the government for only noticing such abuses now. He claimed he and his wife had both been stripped and hit by police personnel when they were detained, and called it "accepted practice in Malaysian lockups." Raja Petra argued that the government was only bothering to take action because the economy, which is reliant on tourism, would be impacted by the reports of abuse.
On November 28 a Malaysian woman, Norazimah Nor came to the Parliament
Parliament of Malaysia
The Parliament of Malaysia is the national legislature of Malaysia, based on the Westminster system. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The King as the Head of State is the third component of Parliament....
lobby
Lobby (room)
A lobby is a room in a building which is used for entry from the outside. Sometimes referred to as a foyer or an entrance hall.Many office buildings, hotels and skyscrapers go to great lengths to decorate their lobbies to create the right impression....
to notify the members that she and 8 other women were forced to strip and do 100 naked push-ups in the Kapar
Kapar
Kapar is a town in the Klang district of Selangor, Malaysia. The Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Power Station is located not far from town. The Kapar River which flows nearby the town centre empties into the Straits of Malacca....
police lockup on November 5, 2000. Media organizations sympathetic to Malaysian opposition parties as well as independent media like Malaysiakini
Malaysiakini
Malaysiakini is a political news website published in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. Since its launch on November 20, 1999, it has been widely considered to be one of the leading non-government owned paid-news agencies in Malaysia. Compete.com estimates that Malaysiakini now attracts over...
cited her case as a reason to suspect the government's interest in the Chinese abuse cases was due more to tourist money instead of concern over human rights. Norazimah had been detained for attending an assembly organised by the opposition Barisan Alternatif
Barisan Alternatif
Barisan Alternatif was a coalition of Malaysian opposition parties, formed as a counterweight to the ruling Barisan Nasional...
.
Independent commission
On December 2, it was announced that a five-member independent commission had been set up to investigate the incidents of alleged abuse. Former Chief Justice of Malaysia Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah was named as the commission head; he had earlier served in the same capacity in the Royal Commission on the Police Force. The other members of the commission were Lim Ah Lek, Kamilia Ibrahim, former chairman of the Bar Council Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari and Hamzah Mohammad Rus, who would serve as the commission secretary. All of them had also served in the Royal Commission.Their goals were to determine if the woman in the clip was one of five Chinese nationals who had filed complaints about police abuse, probe the procedure of body search shown, determine if there was any impropriety in the manner the search was conducted, investigate the police Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and the regulations concerning body searches, and recommend amendments or alterations to these rules. Abdullah gave the commission 30 days to prepare its report.
Other references
- Abas, Azura (26 November 2005). "For closer co-operation". New Straits TimesNew Straits TimesThe New Straits Times is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print , having been founded as The Straits Times in 1845, and was reestablished as the "New Straits Times" in 1965. The paper served as Malaysia's only broadsheet format English...
, p. 2. - Abu Bakar, Zubaidah (26 November 2005). "Naked anger over lockup abuse". New Straits Times, pp. 1, 6.
- Charles, Lourdes (27 November 2005). "Police to go after person who filmed naked woman". The StarThe Star (Malaysia)The Star is an English-language, tabloid-format newspaper in Malaysia. It is the largest in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the . It has a daily circulation of between 290,000 to 300,000...
. - "China asks Malaysia to probe assault cases". (29 November 2005). Xinhua.
- Chua, Eddie (2 December 2005). "Commission given 30 days to probe nude ear-squat video scandal". The SunThe Sun (Malaysia)The Sun is Malaysia's first national free daily newspaper in tabloid form. Available from Mondays to Fridays except on public holiday, with a target audience of white-collar workers and urban youth....
. - "Commission had highlighted ear squats". (27 November 2005). New Sunday Times, p. 3.
- Cruez, Annie Freeda (27 November 2005). "'Only medical staff can carry out such checks'". New Sunday Times, p. 3.
- Damis, Aniza (28 November 2005). "Strip search — it's not legal". New Straits Times, p. 1, 6.
- Emmanuel, Tony (27 November 2005). "Nude video clip probe". New Sunday Times, pp. 1, 3.
- Gill, Parveen (12 November 2005). "Police made me strip, says Chinese national". The Star.
- Kent, Jonathan (25 November 2005). "Video puts Malaysia police in dock". BBC News.
- Kent, Jonathan (27 November 2005). "Pressure on Malaysia police chief". BBC News.
- Kent, Jonathan (30 November 2005). "Malaysia minister defends police". BBC News.
- Kent, Jonathan (30 November 2005). "Malaysia police minister 'sorry'". BBC News.
- Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "Press freedom interference - dangerous precedent in Pak Lah era". Retrieved 1 December 2005.
- Lim, Kit Siang (2005). "Who will back down – PM and DPM or Deputy IGP?". Retrieved 28 November 2005.
- "Malaysia investigates abuse claim". (26 November 2005). BBC News.
- "Malaysia yet to apologise for abuse". AFPAgence France-PresseAgence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
. - "Nude squat woman identified". (13 December 2005). The Star.
- Ooi, Jeff (2005). "Noh 'kena bambu' for 'lying' to PM". Retrieved 1 December 2005.
- Ooi, Jeff (2005). "Noh Omar censured for shooing at foreigners?". Retrieved 30 November 2005.
- "PM orders independent inquiry". (29 November 2005). New Straits Times, p. 1, 6.
- "Protests after motion denied". (30 November 2005). New Straits Times, p. 4.
- Sonia, R. (29 November 2005). "'Police acted according to rules'". New Straits Times, p. 6.
External links
- MerdekaReview.com - a video of Internal Security Minister Noh Omar making the "go home" remark.
- blip.tv - video of squat search