Sarawak police sued for abusing power
By Joseph Tawie, Free Malaysia Today
KUCHING: Sarawak DAP is suing the police for abusing their power and stopping them from organising a dinner function last month.
The party has filed a civil suit against the police department for refusing to approve its application for a permit to hold a dinner at the Batu Kawah old bazaar.
DAP Sarawak secretary Chong Chieng Jen filed the suit at the Kuching High Court registry on Wednesday.
The dinner was supposed to be held on Nov 20 but had to be postponed to Nov 27 as the permit had not been granted.
But police refused to approve their permit for the new Nov 27 date for the dinner themed “Solidarity with Meradong assemblywoman Ting Tze Hui.”
Ting was suspended in the May 2010 sitting of the State Legislative Assembly after the Committee of Privileges found her guilty of misleading the house.
She was referred to the committee after she uttered misleading remarks on the state government’s spending on 1st Silicon during the May 21 sitting.
Besides Ting, two other opposition members who are currently suspended are Dominique Ng (PKR-Pandungan)and Chong who is also Kota Sentosa assemblyman.
In its statement of claim, DAP is seeking damages, including exemplary damages, special damages and also costs due to the cancellation of the dinner.
Chong had earlier condemned the Kuching police for behaving like thugs in dealing with the opposition’s application to hold the dinner by issuing threats against members of the public if they were to attend the function.
“The police are trying to be difficult and have reduced themselves as political thugs of Barisan Nasional to suppress the opposition,” he said.
No reason given
According to Chong, who is Bandar Kuching MP, when the party applied to hold the dinner on Nov 20 at the old bazaar, the Kuching police chief said that the two restaurants could not accommodate 800 people.
When the DAP suggested to organize the dinner the following night with the number of people reduced to 650, the police chief also rejected saying that two other organisations would be holding functions near the restaurants.
