Blogger blasts police over events surrounding nightclub drug raid

About Politics, Society, ALL ARTICLES | October 17, 2005

By JASON LIM

One of the more recent topics buzzing around the local blog scene is about alleged police corruption witnessed by an anonymous blogger called ABETTERMALAYSIA. In his blog, he details his version of the events surrounding a drug raid in a nightclub and his subsequent detention along with 22 other “innocent” people by the police.

It is a pretty emotional account, especially with the blogger’s blow-by-blow allegations of wrong-doings of our local enforcement officials, which include:-

1. forcing detainees to sign documents
2. extortion
3. deliberate humiliation of prisoners

At this point, I assume you have clicked on the link provided and read his entries, particularly this one.

The blogger has indicated that his blog may be shut down for personal reasons, so if the link is inactive, I hope the summary I provided above is sufficient for the purposes of this article.

The accounts of this blogger may or may not be true, since, as he admitted, no documents of his detention and release can be produced. So far, the most concrete evidence to back up his story seems to be a handful of fellow detainees who witnessed the entire event.

Somehow, despite the fuzziness of the picture painted by ABETTERMALAYSIA, many other Malaysian bloggers are rallying around him for support. People from all walks of life, lawyers, ex-detainees and average street people have contributed to a total of over 250 comments on his blog, some hurling expletives at the police force and some offering to share their own experiences with corrupt power.

ABETTERMALAYSIA’s motive behind setting up the blog seems to be to expose the wrong-doings done onto him and to perhaps clear his name. He seems to resent the way he and the other 22 detainees were treated “like convicts.” With the attention his blog is getting, it will be a matter of time until the authorities intervene, one way or another.

I for one, will be interested in seeing how this story unfolds. What is unique is how this blogger is using the Internet as his rallying call for support and apparent pursuit of justice. Will the ripples he created with his blog get lost in cyberspace?

I highly doubt it.

—
JASON LIM is the assistant directorof theCICAK.

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Horrifying.

I sincerely hope the details of the blog were fictionalized, because I can’t imagine such horror and degradation in a country of whose sanctity we have been taught - even with the occasional bout of corruption (which is sometimes even to our benefit.)

The problem is: how do we know how true this story is, when the blog remains anonymous? I’m not disputing its authenticity, but such terrible accusations must be verified.

I hope this case brings light to the police in Malaysia, and forces the government to acknowledge what’s going on with their unspoken blessing. But perhaps it’s a pipe dream…

Comment published by falcons84 on 17 October 2005.
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Puttting the Malaysian police in perspective…

I was robbed once. A month later I saw the same robbers, and the quick acting, good humoured, brave Malaysian policemen helped me bash the robbers and cuff em good.

Elsewhere, my Mexican friend told me the police there do much worse stuff and get away with it… in daylight! and everyone is used to it.

Also, would I be wrong to say other countries may have worse police corruption, brutality, rape, genocide even… which we will never know about because they may have lost their arms and cant blog?

(big up to journos who risk everything to help them)

I just hope that blog will spark some change somewhere down the line.

Comment published by khailee on 17 October 2005.
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I have read this blog and though I won’t deny that the Malaysian police would have some bad hats among them, I cannot just believe, with no proof, this guy’s account.

A couple of things came to mind while I was reading this:

- If it was such a huge bust (22 kids in a famous joint at Sri Hartamas - the papers would have gone to town with it, or at least the tabloids), why was there nothing reported in the papers about it?

- I understand the need for anonymity here but many far-out accusations are being made, if the guy was really “innocent” and wanted to prove it AND had 21 others to back up his story, why don’t they all write a petition, with their real names, to protest about it?

I also found his repetitive use of overly emotional words like describing him and the other clubbers being “innocent” (almost to the point of virginal the way he described them), a little suspicious - but that’s just my opinion on this.

Comment published by jehan on 18 October 2005.
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The Malaysian Police Force is good at what they do - taking on hardcore crime.

Their failure to effectively combat graft and small scale corruption as well as improve their human rights record is worrying though.

Even if we say that these problems exist in developed countries, there will always be room for improvement and a need for better transparency.

Whistle blowers like ABETTERMALAYSIA are a necessary part of our democratic machinery. We are lucky that (for now) the internet gives people like him a voice.

Comment published by jason on 18 October 2005.
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just because “some other countries” have police forces which are way worse than ours doesn’t mean that we should stop improving ourselves, eh?

that basically sums up the apathetic, lackadaisical attitude of most authorities - don’t complain because some other people are worse off than you.

this thinking is flawed, and this complacency will keep us from improving.

let us see what’s gonna happen once the royal commission on our police force is released to the public.

Comment published by andrew on 18 October 2005.
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How many of you have been caught by the traffic police and being hinted to give “coffee money”?

How many of you were offered to “settle” summons by a certain police officer for a small fee?

How many of you have been to a certain night spots and being told beforehand that police is coming?

How many illegal night spots continue to operate despite the many raids carried out by police?

Why is Mr. Karam Singh Walia doing all the DOE work?

Why so many government projects fail and more money has to be pumped in?

woops…did I ran off course? hmm…no further comments.

Comment published by senbai on 18 October 2005.
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Police corruption and brutality. Lol. I sure would bitch and moan and hopefully not piss my pants if i was in that guy’s shoes.

God help me if i was to get locked-up with a chinese gang tatoo on my forearm. But if being asked for duit kopi and slapped around a little is what i have to give up for an otherwise decent police force, i’m resigned to that fate.

Obviously the line has to be drawn at more serious stuff like rape, really bad bullying and serious bodily harm. But are we facing that problem on a regular basis? I sure hope not, and the lack of evidence to the contrary points to the fact that we are still doing alright.

The underlying problem of underpaid and undermotivated cops will remain. But are we not part of the problem? We pay em peanuts and not expect them to abuse their power. How many of you are thinking of or have friends that are in the force? Until the day that the police manage to recruit slightly more resposible, educated people like yourselves, there are some things that have to be put up with.

In all seriousness, as a guide, so that the prices are not bid up by the time i get home =>, RM 10-30 for using the handphone, not wearing seatbelts is fine. RM 20-50 for speeding and faling the breathalyser test depending on the number of cops at the roadblock is ok. RM 2000 for hot-boxing is a little extreme but i’m sure RM 200-1000 should suffice. RM 100 for letting them chase you for 10 minutes before pulling you over is what you pay for some fun. And if they’ve turned on the sirens and lights DO try to outrun them.

Comment published by chengwei on 18 October 2005.
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im curious abt their measurement and incentive systems… is there a ‘good cop’ and does he get ‘rewarded’ more? perhaps the most ‘rewarded’ cop is the most crooked…

regretfully, i am part of the problem, as its hard for me imagine NOT following for chengwei’s price guide, thus giving incentives for the cops to break the law.

Comment published by khailee on 18 October 2005.
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actually,untill today,i thought our police would be more like the ‘gerak khas’that had been showed in tv 2 but what i’ve just read was a total shock…
thank to god that it wasn’t me….

yea..and about the coffee money…
its insulting…are they that desperate?
im a student in a local ipta and most of my frenz are afraid of cops not because they are cops but we are afraid about losing our money to a jerk….

being push to the side of the road without any reason and was force to pay them…
obviously because we are jz teenagers.huh…
im saying this because when it was my father who drives the car..no words come out from any police….

Comment published by mohd norazam on 21 October 2005.
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When I read the blog, I longed for some sort of evidence of this incident. Yet, searching my memory for personal experiences or scenes I’ve witnessed I can’t say I am all that shocked. Sure as one big incident it might be out of the norm, but isolate each act that the police have alleged to have done and you probably get quite close to everyday life.

I will say that I have had some good experiences with the police in the past, but one of the memories that stick with me was when I got pulled over for apparently crossing a (non-existent) white line on the road. Even despite pointing out to the officer that plain to see there was no white line on the road for me to cross, he continued trying to intimidate me. It was only after mentioning that we were on our way to cover an assignment for a daily newspaper and we needed to hurry so just give us the ticket but his badge number as well that he suddenly had a change of heart.

Nevertheless, how many reports of corruption do you really see in our local press? The ones I’ve noticed seem to be focused on people who are clearly on their way out of whatever position they were in. While I am not a fan of scandal mongering, our society does seem to be over-zealous in avoiding scandal and protecting our “way of life”.

Love or hate the police, I doubt there’s anyone out there who believes that our police force are the innocent beacons of right that they are meant to be. But it is very difficult to effect fundamental change in a (supposedly knowledge-based) society where the attitudes of transparency, accountability and open questioning are not valued as one of the highest virtues.

Comment published by Matt S on 22 October 2005.
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mohd norazam : “when it was my father who drives the car..no words come out from any police”

why is that?

Comment published by jason on 23 October 2005.
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pOLICE ARE LICENSED GANGTERS

Comment published by DAVID 10 on 24 October 2005.
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I wonder if anyone is actually willing to conduct research or investigate on this matter.

Or even carry-out a lil test.

Example:
Let’s target traffic police.
Get a person (or persons) to become the bait for the traffic police. This person will conduct the experiment and at the same time will collect evidence to determine the extent of how corrupted our traffic police are.

The Test:
Get in the car… purposely break the law and make sure the cops are around to nab you in the act. The crime can range from anything to talking on the phone, making illegal u-turns or speeding at 180km/h on LDP. Anything goes. But not too extreme la.

Once the cop comes, wait and see whether he asks for ‘coffee money’. If he does… make sure u record it somehow, say a hidden camera? Or a voice recorder?

However, if he doesn’t… and just writes you a ticket instead, make sure your wealthy enough to pay the fine.

Continue your crime-spree, at different locations around Klang Valley, ensuring that you also keep a detailed journal of your observations/discoveries, then tabulate ur findings.

Why bother with the experiment you say?
Perhaps the results will give a clearer picture of the amount of police corruption that exists. Only a sample, but at least it’s a start.

Of course there are major setbacks… the test needs to be planned more thoroughly. But first, who would dare to become the guinea pig?

I’d do it. if I got sponsored. And also if I had a license.

Comment published by Curious George on 31 October 2005.
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Wrongfully detained Chinese Housewife

———————————————-

Translated police statement from Malay to English found on http://teresakok.blogsome.com/2005/11/15/china-nationals-sue-police-for-illegal-detention/

This police statement was made by the 4 chinese housewife who were wrongfully detained

Name: Yu Xue zhen
Sex: Female
Brith date: 27 November 1970
Marriage status: married with Malaysian

Name: Gu Xiu hua
Sex: Female
Marriage status: married
Name: Wu Xiao hua
Sex: Female
Marriage status: married
Name: Liu Jing
Sex: Female
Marriage status: married
Brith date: 25 July 1971

We were detained by the police with other lady Chinese nationals from the 3rd of November 2005 (Thursday), about 11pm nearing to Sungai Buloh. At that time we were in a car and the police was holding a road block.

Police detained us with the cause of suspicion of fake passport. We were sent to the Sungai Buloh police station. At about 6 am 4th November 2005. We were sent to the Petaling Jaya Police Station and we were imprison in the lock up in there.

Before we were sent to our cells, we were told to show all our belongings in our hand bag. A police men and a police woman who were at the counter recorded the inventory of our hand bag and asked $50 RM from both yu xue zhen and Gu xiu hua and we gave it to them. At that time, Wu Xia Hua only had $3 RM in her hand bag. She was also force to give it to the above mentioned police officers. The Police women then shared $10 of our money to each of the officers in the station. We were force to give the money because it was demanded from the police officer and we were afraid of them.

After that, two police woman ask us to take off our clothes until we were naked in a room before going into the lock up one by one. The police women ask us to stand and squat five times when we were naked. When it was Yu Xue Zhen;s turn, she felt embarrass from striping and move her back to face the police women. She was slapped by the police women on the face. When Yu Xue Zhen was taking her clothes off. A police man was peeping at her and she screamed. After that the room door was immediately closed. After the body check, were we allowed to put our clothes back on and enter the lock up.

On the evening of 5th November 2005. 5 chinese nationals women including us and 2 indonesian women was brought to the Sungai Buloh police station to record our statement. When we return to the Petaling Jaya Police station. We were again asked to take off our clothes and repeat the procedude. After that all the Chinese women were not allowed to wear back our bras. Only the women of other nationalities were allowed to wear back their bras.

After we recorded out statement on the 5th of November at the Sungai Buloh Police Station, a police man did a hand gesture to Gu Xiu Hua that meant she had big breast.

At about 7pm 5th November, Yu Xue Zhen wrap her body with a big towel and entered the bath room in the lock up. She notive a police man staring at her from outside the lock up’s door. This was witness by Gu Xiu Hua. Gu Xiu Hua remembers Yu Xue Zhen immediately went into the bath room and close the door.
On the first day of our detention period. Yu Xue Zhen’s husband brought two bags that contained clothes, 3 towels, ladies towel, perfume, tooth brush and tooth paste to the Petaling Jaya Police Station to be given to Yu Xue Zhen, but the police officer on duty did not send it to her. On the 5th of November when Yu Xue Zhen was sent to the Sungai Buloh Police Station to record her statement. She was told by her husband that he sent those items to her on the day before. When Yu Xue Zhen was sent back to the Petaling Jaya Police Office, she asked for those items that was sent by her husband to the police, and she found a few expensive clothes, towel, tooth brush, tooth paste, perfume and ladies towel missing. And only two T shirt, a shirt, jeans and long pants was left behind.

We were imprisoned in the lock up for 5 days, only released by the police on the 7th November 2005 when the immigration officer in Putrajaya have validated that our passport was real. Before we left the Petaling Jaya Police Station, around 4 pm, the same police men who did the same hand gesture that praise the size of Gu Xia Hua’s breast. That police man asked Gu Xiu Hua to come to him and did another gesture to ask Gu Xiu Hua to call him. But Gu Xiu Hua did not dare go near him.
We are not happy about the imprisonment and our experience because we were holding valid passport and we have entered Malaysia many times through the years. We have never gone against the Malaysian law and we should not have been detained and imprisoned in the police lock up.

——————————

It has also been alleged through press release by the Chinese woman that the police officer at the road block indicated they wanted a $500 rm bribe. On refusing the Chinese ladies were brought it for “suspicion�? of owning fake passports. They were also not given proper drinking, instead they drank straight from the tap.

This is the latest on the issue.
Morning raid on Chinese nationals’ homes
http://teresakok.blogsome.com/2005/11/23/morning-raid-on-chinese-nationals-homes/

The MMS Story
http://teresakok.blogsome.com/2005/11/25/52/

The Video a Malaysian police woman forcing a woman to strip. A dirty minded policeman was secretly hiding and filming her.
http://www.filefactory.com/get/f.php?f=5abefe7d55077db58c9c1793
http://www.bigupload.com/d=4774
http://d52.yousendit.com/E/0V1MNL7RKWOND3GIJZ71L915J4/Lokap%20girl.3gp

Comment published by jezza on 25 November 2005.
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Nice one!

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