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Police should also be charged with attempted murder

by Richard Teo

Malaysians in general and Indians in particular must be appalled at how the Attorney-General could charge 31 Hindraf protestors for the dubious crime of attempted murder.

Surely the charge can only be valid if the perpetrator of the crime can be identified. There is no justification to detain the 31 members if the crime was committed by a single individual. The prosecutor cannot expect the court to believe that the 31 perpetrators were responsible for throwing an object which specifically caused injury to the police officers.

How could the prosecutors cast a net so wide and hope per chance that it may catch the culprit from amongst the 31 protestors? Obviously not all of the 31 protestors were responsible for the single injury caused to the officer. Therefore will justice be served if the law punish the 31 Hindraf members just because one of them caused injury to the officer?

Can our justice be so vicious that 31 individual should pay the price for a crime committed by one individual? That in essence is what the Attorney-general is doing and in doing so he has made a mockery of our judicial system.

But in reality what was the crime committed by the 31 protestors?

By the same token, there were several protestors who suffered head injuries when the police fired tear gas canisters laterally at the crowd. Video clips taken on that day confirmed that quite a number of the protestors suffered injuries as a result. By the
same logic the police officers who fired the tear gas canisters can also be charged with attempted murder. Continue reading “Police should also be charged with attempted murder”

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Crime – increase by leaps and bounds and mutate to new criminality

In the past 30 months since the Royal Police Commission Report and its 125 recommendations in May 2005 to create an incorruptible, efficient, professional world-class police service to reduce crime, eradicate corruption and protect human rights, the scene on the crime front has taken a turn for the worse.

There has not only been a big jump in the crime index, new forms of criminality have been created striking fear among law-abiding citizens, tourists and would-be investors making Malaysia even more unsafe for people and property compared to four years ago.

The Royal Police Commission in its May 2005 Report had referred to the “alarming” and “dramatic increase” in the crime index from 121,176 cases in 1997 to 156,455 cases in 2004, an increase of 29 per cent in eight years, and recommended a reduction by 20% in the crime index in the first 12 months.

In actual fact, the reverse has taken place with the crime index set to create a new record in crossing the 200,000 mark this year — a hefty increase of some 30% of the crime incidence in three years from 2004!

Yesterday, Datuk Dr. Maximus Ongkili, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Chairman of the Crime Prevention Foundation, admitted the worsening of the crime index this year with nine reported cases of rape a day in the first nine months of this year as compared to four cases a day in 2003 and 6.7 cases a day in 2006!

A recent public opinion survey found that crime and public safety was rated as the second biggest concern of Malaysians — coming after price hikes and economic concerns.

What must be a matter of grave concern is the creation of new forms of criminality compounding the fear and trauma of Malaysians that they have lost the fundamental and precious freedom from crime and the fear of crime. Continue reading “Crime – increase by leaps and bounds and mutate to new criminality”

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Mat Rempit lawlessness – time for PM to give personal attention to end menace

The Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights and Good Governance has received a complaint from the latest victim of Mat Rempits — Manjit Sokhai, 43, a Canadian consultant from Montreal who comes to Malaysia three to four times a year in connection with his work.

Manjit was driving his four-wheel drive along Jalan Rasah, Seremban at about 11pm on Saturday Oct 20, with three friends from India when he was confronted by some 40 Mat Rempits on motorcycles, who assaulted him and went on to damage his vehicle, smashing the rear lights, wipers and number plate.

Manjit is here and he will give you his traumatic encounter with the Mat Rempits.

Mat Rempits going on a rampage, causing harm to innocent people and property, has become too common an occurrence.

These were some of the reports in the mass media in the past two months on Mat Rempit rampage and violence in the country:

1. Merdeka celebrations took a nasty turn at Dataran Hadhari, Teluk Batik, Perak early 1st September 2007 when some Mat Rempits reacted violently against the police by wrecking one patrol car and breaking the rear window of another. This happened at 1.30am when a police inspector tried to detain a man, sparking angry protests from more than 100 Mat Rempits, who surrounded the police car, kicked its doors and ripped off the radio antenna. The police officer escaped unharmed.

2. A senior citizen, Yusoff Abdullah, 69, was knocked and killed by a Mat Rempit in Pasir Tumboh, Kota Bharu early morning on 8th September. The Mat Rempit who hit Yusoff, Ahmad Fuad Ariffin, 19 also died on the spot.

3. Two Mat Rempits who were not happy with police having a road block attacked Merbok Police Station in Sungai Petani with petrol bombs at about 1am, 27th August 2007. Nobody was injured.

4. A group of ten Mat Rempits turned violent and attacked a police car and a few policemen in Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur, a Mat Rempit favourite spot early on the night of 30th September 2007. When they were blocked by the traffic police, they turned violent and attacked the police before leaving.

5. Mohd Fairus Abdul Aziz, 21, a restaurant worker was killed after he fell from his motorcycle in Jalan Tun Razak near the US Embassy where he was surrounded and kicked by five Mat Rempits at about 5:40 am on 11th October 2007. Fairus was about to send her girl friend home after work when he was surrounded by the Mat Rempits who wanted to take her girl friend away.

6. Wan Asmadi Wan Ahmad, 36, a senior officer from Road Transport Department Enforcement Unit was hit by a Mat Rempit in an Ops Sikap XIII operation in Jalan Sultan Idris Shah, Ipoh at about 10:15 pm on 21st October 2007. His legs were broken and he suffered serious head injuries. Continue reading “Mat Rempit lawlessness – time for PM to give personal attention to end menace”

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Zam is a disgrace to Malaysia – handicapped by his chauvinistic mindset from becoming a full Malaysian

Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin is a disgrace to Malaysian nation-building on her 50th Merdeka anniversary, a Minister who is handicapped by his narrow-minded thinking from becoming a full Malaysian, constantly playing the communal drum to turn every issue including human rights, corruption and justice into a racial one.

This is the Bernama report of Zainuddin’s remarks attacking the DAP in Sungai Petani yesterday:

Zainuddin said many of the party’s statements seemed to be aimed at eroding public confidence in the police force, besides taking a swipe at the Malays by connecting police with the Malay community.

“As most of the police personnel are Malays, any action taken in a case is seen by the DAP as the use of Malay power over the non-Malays,” he said in reference to several rape and corruption cases highlighted by the DAP.

It is sad and tragic that although Malaysia has just celebrated 50 years of independent nationhood, there are still people occupying positions of power in government who have not kept abreast with the evolution of Malaysian identity and consciousness but continue to cling to their chauvinist mindset, seeing everything through the communal prism. Continue reading “Zam is a disgrace to Malaysia – handicapped by his chauvinistic mindset from becoming a full Malaysian”

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Nurin’s brutal death – let Cabinet observe minute-silence and renew forgotten commitment to keep crime low

The country joins the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in shock, anger and grief at the brutal rape-murder of eight-year-old Nurin Jazlin Jazimin, whose naked body in a foetal position was stuffed in a sports bag in Petaling Utama.

No stone must be left unturned to track down and to bring the murderer to justice.

The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan said on Thursday that the Police was closing in on the killer. All Malaysians pray and hope that the police would be successful in the hunt for the murderer.

In contrast, the statement yesterday by Musa that Nurin’s parents are being investigated for possible negligence have stirred very mixed feelings from Malaysians, regardless of race or religion.

If there is evidence that Nurin’s parents had been negligent contributing to her brutal murder, and the parents are prosecuted, it is a totally different matter from putting pressure on the grieving parents at this time of their bereavement when the police has as yet to get any evidence to establish any parental negligence.

Is it right and proper for Musa to add to the grief and sorrow of Nurin’s parents in such circumstances?

Nurin’s brutal rape-murder must be regarded as both a family tragedy for taxi driver Jazimin Abdul Jalil and a national shame.

There is something very sick and rotten in our society that Nurin could meet with such a brutal end. But it also bespeaks of the breakdown of the institutions in the state responsible for upholding law and order.

Let the Cabinet meeting next Wednesday begin by observing a minute of silence for Nurin’s brutal death followed by a renewal of its forgotten commitment to make the country a safer place for our citizens, tourists and investors.

This renewal of commitment by the Cabinet is imperative for we must not allow Malaysia to become a crime-infested society which claim victims regardless of race or religion. Continue reading “Nurin’s brutal death – let Cabinet observe minute-silence and renew forgotten commitment to keep crime low”

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Cabinet must be made collectively responsible for the crime situation with weekly crime report which must be made public

Malaysians are horrified by the brutal rape-and-murder of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) student Tang Lai Meng from Menglembu, Perak at Bandar Mahkota Cheras three days ago, which has again reminded Malaysians on the occasion of the nation’s 50th Merdeka anniversary that they have lost the most precious of all human rights — the fundamental right to be free from crime and the fear of crime, whether in the streets, public places or the privacy of their home.

There is a danger that Malaysians, whether the authorities including the police, and the citizenry have become numbed to the vicious spiral of the crime index in the country as to accept that the escalation of crime is an inevitable part and price of Malaysia’s development.

This is not acceptable and Malaysians from walks of life must make it clear that their most important wish on the occasion of the nation’s 50th Merdeka anniversary is the restoration of a safe country where Malaysians can walk the streets and public places as well as return to their home without fear of being victims of crime.

A crime-infested society knows no race, as illustrated by the case of the Malay woman motor-cycle pillion rider in Johor Bahru two days ago who was abducted, gang-raped and robbed by six robbers.

I call on Cabinet Ministers to be collectively responsible for the worsening crime situation in the country and to demand weekly police report on security situation until the crime rate is brought down to pre-Royal Police Commission period. Continue reading “Cabinet must be made collectively responsible for the crime situation with weekly crime report which must be made public”

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Another brutal crime in Ipoh

Another brutal crime in Ipoh — 22-year-old hairstylist whose semi-naked body was found sprawled at her salon in Taman Perpaduan, Tambun, Ipoh on Friday.

Sunday Star yesterday reported:

The body of Ooi Choo Lee was discovered by her father Ooi Ah Hee, 57, when he went to check on her after she repeatedly failed to answer his phone calls.

Choo Lee was found sprawled in the toilet of the shop at about 4am yesterday.

She had apparently been strangled and was believed to have been raped.

Ah Hee said he had rushed from Sungkai, about 120km away, where he worked, to check on Choo Lee.

“I thought she was at the supermarket when she didn’t answer the first time at 8pm (Thursday).

“But when there was still no answer much later, I decided to go to Ipoh.

“She had always been told to keep her phone turned on,” he told reporters at the Ipoh Hospital mortuary here.

Choo Lee was from Sungai Petani who moved to Ipoh two years ago.

Only last week, a teenager was kidnapped, robbed and raped in Ipoh by two parang-wielding men when she went to a 24-hour clinic at 2 am for treatment. Continue reading “Another brutal crime in Ipoh”

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Is Abdullah strictly liable for seditious postings on PMO website?

“Watch your blogs, warns PM” was the headline of Sunday Star on the warning by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Kuantan on Saturday that bloggers are not immune from the law, whether their websites are hosted overseas or otherwise.

Does this warning apply to the Prime Minister himself, in view of disclosures on the blogosphere that the Prime Minister’s official website had hosted a very incendiary and seditious article inciting racial hatred, ill-will and animosity among the Malays and Chinese in the country?

This article, written in Bahasa Malaysia and purported to be by one “DR. NG SENG”, clearly an “agent provocateur” camouflaging as a Chinese, had been on the Prime Minister’s Office website for more than 20 months since Nov. 14, 2005 on the “ucapan takziah” for the late Datin Paduka Seri Endon Mahmood archive.

Blogger Ronnie Liu will be lodging a police report on the seditious and inflammatory “DR. NG SENG” article today.

Although the seditious article, together with the entire “ucapan takziah” archive, has been removed from the Prime Minister’s Office website this morning, the fact remains that the seditious article had been publicly available on the website for over 20 months and a grave crime had been perpetrated.

Who must be held responsible for the seditious article on the official website of the Prime Minister?

Is Abdullah strictly liable for seditious postings on the Prime Minister’s Office website to the extent that he could be charged and tried for sedition?

This would appear to be the implication from the comments of Abdullah, who appears to be declaring the principle of strict liability for bloggers and website principals. Is this the position of the Prime Minister and the government?

Will the Police haul up Abdullah to record a statement following Ronnie’s police report? I am not suggesting that Abdullah should be arrested, charged and tried in court for the seditious “DR. NG SENG” article on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office, although these would be the logical results if under the law there is the principle of strict liability for the seditious materials which are posted on the official website of the Prime Minister’s Office. Continue reading “Is Abdullah strictly liable for seditious postings on PMO website?”

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Crime wave in Ipoh

The crime wave and the fear of crime in Ipoh as elsewhere in the country – escalating and not tapering off, as illustrated by the following report:

NST Online
2007/07/24

Teenager at clinic robbed and raped
By : P. Chandra Sagaran

IPOH: She was sick and went to a clinic at 2am. There, she was kidnapped by two parang-wielding men who took her on a terror ride and then raped her.

The teenager was later abandoned in Tanjung Malim, about 140km away.

City police chief ACP Jalaludin Ibrahim said the girl had gone to the clinic in Ipoh Garden on Saturday with a friend.

While waiting to be treated, two men entered the clinic and held up the two friends and a nurse, robbing the clinic of RM1,900 and the women of two handphones.

“The men then grabbed the victim and pushed her into a BMW 3 series car parked outside the clinic.

“The girl was taken on a terror ride before being raped. She was abandoned at 6.30am in Tanjung Malim,” said Jala- ludin.

She later sought help from passers-by and lodged a report. She was sent to the Tanjung Malim Hospital for a medical examination. Continue reading “Crime wave in Ipoh”

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Appoint Minister with 24/7 responsibility for “all-out war against crime” – give him 6 months to show results or step down from Cabinet

Today’s media coverage on the crime front has again illustrated how after up to 42% pay rise and increased allocations, the Royal Malaysian Police have failed its most fundamental duty — to keep Malaysians and visitors safe from crime and free from the fear of crime.

These are some of the crimes highlighted in today’s media:

  • A 19-year-old girl student who went to a 24-hour clinic in Ipoh at 1.20 am on Sunday morning for treatment was abducted by two parang-wielding robbers at the clinic and gang-raped; (Sin Chew)
  • A Miri woman tourist in Penang who was severely wounded when she suffered seven cuts when two armed men on a motor-bike targeted her for snatch-theft in Georgetown after supper at a hawker centre on Friday night at about 10 pm. (Nanyang)
  • An Australian businessman who makes frequent trips here becoming a snatch theft victim in Malacca in his current visit — at Taman Melaka Raya at around 8.30 pm on July 15. (The Star)

What has happened to the important recommendation of the Royal Police Commission two years ago for a sustained nation-wide drive against crime “until crime levels have reached a point considered no longer alarming”, with the immediate target of “a minimum 20 per cent decrease in crimes” within the first 12 months after the Report? Continue reading “Appoint Minister with 24/7 responsibility for “all-out war against crime” – give him 6 months to show results or step down from Cabinet”