Student: Cops beat me black and blue

RK Anand, Malaysiakini

"I was handcuffed, punched and kicked for several minutes. And when I spat the blood which oozed out from my mouth on the floor, I was beaten again for this."

Little did 20-year-old college student Koh Chon Weng suspect that a night out at a club with friends would pave the way for a horrendous experience which he would never forget.

The youth, who still bears the scars of his ordeal, claimed that he was arrested and beaten up by policemen for no apparent reason.

"I was handcuffed, punched and kicked for several minutes. And when I spat the blood which oozed out from my mouth on the floor, I was beaten again for this," recalled the soft-spoken accounting student during a press conference at the DAP office in Petaling Jaya.

His friends, who had accompanied Koh, expressed shock over the incident.

"He is not capable of committing any crime. He is such a mild-mannered person. We are so disappointed by this. It can happen to anyone of us," lamented one of them.

On May 24, Koh said he was walking towards his car at the basement of a popular mall in Bandar Sunway at about 3am after patronising an entertainment outlet when he was approached by a personnel from the reserve police unit.

"He grabbed me and told me that I was being arrested. I asked him why but he did not answer. I was then taken to the Bandar Sunway police station and handed over to two policemen.

"I refused to enter the police station and kept insisting on the reason for my arrest. The policemen ignored my question and handcuffed me. They then dragged me into the police station," he claimed.

"A struggle ensued and my right foot knocked against the glass door, causing it to shatter," he added.

'Punched and kicked'

In his report lodged at the Brickfields police station on June 3, Koh said the two policemen became enraged and started verbally abusing him.

"They then beat me, including kicking me in the hips and punching my ear. Because of this, my mouth and my lips started to bleed. My right eye, left hand and forehead became swollen.

"Another policeman then challenged me to a fight but I refused," he added.

Koh was later subjected to a urine test by the anti-narcotics department and the results cleared him of any illicit substance.

He was then taken to the Subang Jaya district police headquarters.

At about 11 am, he was brought to the magistrate's court to be remanded. Here, the student said he had complained to the magistrate about the 'beating' but was allegedly told that he could only report it after he was released.

Later that night, he was taken for a medical examination at about 10pm.

Koh said he could not contact his parents to inform them of his whereabouts and his mobile phone was damaged during the alleged assault.

Koh was released on May 26 at about 6pm and still remains in the dark as to why he was arrested and subjected to such treatment.

'Injuries were self-inflicted'

His father, who was also present at the press conference, said a policeman had told him that his son's injuries were self-inflicted.

The visibly vexed Koh Teck Youn said he and his wife went looking for their son when he failed to return home.

"We went from one police station to another and finally we found out that he was at the Subang Jaya police station.

"I spoke to the investigating officer and was allowed to see my son at about 5pm. I was shocked by the injuries and pleaded for them to give him medical attention," he said.

"When I asked them why he was arrested, the police officer said that my son had assaulted a policeman and broke the glass door.

"As for his injuries, I was told that my son had knocked himself against the wall," added the 50-year-old mechanic with a look of disbelief etched on his face.

Pursue legal action

Meanwhile, Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo expressed disappointment over the incident and called for swift action.

He said the police had allegedly violated the law from the onset when they failed to inform Koh of the reason of his arrest.

Secondly, he said the student was handcuffed and therefore should not have been subjected to physical force.

"Although the law permits the use of a certain degree of force to restrain a suspect, in this case, the policemen were bigger than him and he was in handcuffs. So was the use of force necessary?" he added.

Gobind said it was fortunate that Koh was still able to relate his ordeal.

"In the case of Kugan (Ananthan), what was returned to the family was his body. Six months have passed and nothing has happened," he added.

Kugan, 20, had died in police custody five days after he was picked up by the Subang Jaya police in connection with a car theft case.

His death has been classified as murder following the emergence of a video recording which revealed severe lacerations on his body.

A second post-mortem commissioned by the family also revealed that Kugan had endured severe beatings.

Following this, 11 policemen were reassigned to desk duties and the investigation papers are now with the Attorney-General's Chambers.

"The inspector-general of police (Musa Hassan) should be criticised for his lack of enthusiasm in resolving such cases," stressed Gobind, calling on Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to take a personal interest in the latest case.

"This is not the first time that a black eye injury has been classified as self-inflicted. We had the famous case of (Opposition Leader) Anwar Ibrahim in 1998," he added.

Gobind also said that he has advised Koh to pursue legal action against the police. "We will not let this go, we want a quick resolution," he added.

He also called on the IGP to order the case to be transferred to the Bukit Aman police headquarters to be probed by a special team.

Set up IPCMC

DAP Subang Jaya assemblyperson Hannah Yeoh said she thought things would improve after the Kugan incident but this has not been the case.

"I hope the police would conduct a thorough probe regarding this matter," she added.

DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke said the latest incident once again underscored the importance of setting up the Independent Police Misconduct and Complaints Commission (IPCMC).

"If Hishammuddin is serious in wanting to reform the police, then he should revive the IPCMC," he added.

Contacted later, Selangor police chief Khalid Abu Bakar asked why Koh had waited so many days before filing a police report on the alleged assault.

Nevertheless, he told Malaysiakini that the matter would be thoroughly investigated.

Commenting on this, Gobind said the delay in filing a police report was due to the family being in fear.

"We must understand that the boy underwent a traumatising experience.

"On June 1, the family met with someone from Suhakam (Human Rights Commission of Malaysia). They were then advised to file a police report," he said when contacted later.

Gobind said the family had also lodged a complaint with Suhakam.