Technician claims assault by police

AN air-conditioning technician has alleged that he was wrongly arrested and beaten up by a group of about 10 policemen at the Balik Pulau police station in Penang.

Fam Li Hor, 21, said he was at home in Pulau Betong, sleeping at about 11.30pm last Thursday when a group of 12 men called at his house.

“They identified themselves as policemen from Nibong Tebal,” he said.

Li Hor said his brother Raymond Fam Li Seong, 27, opened the door for them. “They woke me up and I was roughly grabbed by the nape and my hands were handcuffed to the back,” Li Hor said.

“When my brother asked the policemen why they wanted to arrest me, the policemen in plainclothes reacted by handcuffing him, too,” he said.

Rough treatment:Li Hor demonstrating how he was manhandled by police.

“The police officers refused to show us their authority cards, arrest or search warrants,” he said.

The brothers claimed that the police officers conducted a search of the house, then took both of them and Li Hor’s Proton Satria car to the Balik Pulau police station.

There, Raymond claimed that while he was ordered to wait out-side a room, his brother was “blindfolded and beaten up by about 10 police officers during the interrogation process.”

Li Hor said: “The policemen kept asking me to mengaku (confess), I didn’t even know what have I done. I was kicked, slapped and threatened by the policemen for not confessing.”

The brothers were later transferred to the Nibong Tebal police station. Raymond claimed that a robbery victim there told police that Li Hor was not involved in the robbery case and the brothers were subsequently released on police bail at noon the following day.

“While sending us back home, the police officers explained to us that we had been detained as my car was similar to the car used in the robbery, right down to the model, colour and registration number,” Li Hor said.

He said he lodged a police report at the Balik Pulau police station on July 8.

The brothers were speaking at a press conference at the Gerakan service bureau yesterday. Bureau chief Looi Swee Cheang said the party would assist Li Hor in making an official complaint to the state police.

When contacted, Balik Pulau Deputy OCPD Deputy Supt Lai Fah Hin said he was aware of the incident and had instructed that a full investigation be carried out.

SOURCE: The Star Online (North)