Updated with change in name in caption and story. Shld read: Dave
KLANG, Feb 21: A veteran member of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, Dave, today expressed his disappointment with the way 32 detainees under the SOSMA (Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, are continuing to be treated.
Dave, who captured the scene at the Klang High Court on Thursday, Feb 20, where the case of the Sosma detainees was managed, said the families of the detainees who had been waiting for hours at the court, had yet to see the detainees or even pass any food or drinks to them.
Dave, who caught the special forces in full gear at the court, also asked why the detainees were being treated like “big-time terrorists.”
In a video, which has gone viral, he also lamented that no ministers or Members of Parliament were present at the court premises.
On Thursday, Free Malaysia Today, citing the counsel for 15 of the detainees, T Harpal Singh, reported that deputy registrar Hirman Ab Raub had ordered for the detainees, who had claimed to be assaulted by officers in Sungai Buloh prison, to be immediately sent to hospital for treatment.
He said his clients had given their testimonies during the closed-door case management, with details on how they “were beaten, which body parts were injured, and who the perpetrators were.”
He said the court recorded all testimonies and subsequently ordered immediate medical treatment. adding that 25 detainees were believed to have been assaulted by prison authorities.
The court also advised the inmates to file police reports to pave the way for a formal investigation, he added.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim called for a review of the SOSMA last week. Prior to that, one of the detainees wife had lodged a report at the Sungai Buloh police station alleging that her husband had been beaten badly and sent to the hospital as a consequence.
Voices for abolishing the act has been on the rise once again, among them being the Member Parliament for Klang, Ganabatirao Veraman, who in July 2023 had called for a resolution to the woes of the Sosma detainees and their families as well.
— WE