Man claims cops abused powers

KUALA LUMPUR : A Twitter user took to the social media accusing police of abusing its powers when he was detained for refusing to surrender his cellphone to a group of policemen during random inspection at a food stall on Jalan Cheras Utama here on Saturday.

In postings in the messaging application, the man claimes that he was having tea at a food stall near his mother’s house at 2.30pm when two plainclothes policemen approached him and identified themselves as the police.

He said the cops asked him to handover his MyKad and cellphone, prompting him to question them on why they need the former.

The man claimed that the policemen told him that they had the right to check his phone without stating any law that allowed them to do so, neither mentioning if there was any offence he had committed.

While holding on to his cellphone, the man said he allowed the police to look at it without taking it into possession.

When he opened the WhatsApp application, the policeman clicked on the search engine and did a search with the alphabets “MKT”.

The man said he was irked by the actions of the police and quickly kept his cellphone.

As he walked away to his car, more policemen showed up and tried to stop him from getting into his vehicle.

He alleged the policemen pushed him and accused him of being rough with them.

“I kept calm and screamed and stressed I have my rights to not be hindered of my movements.They attempted to snatch my phone many times and was surrounded by them as if they were thugs and not the police.” he said.

He claimed that he was trailed to his mother’s house as he managed to drive off with two policemen in the back seat.

Later, the police took him to the Cheras district police headquarters where an officer asked him to surrender his cellphone. He said he gave in to the order as he had spent over three hours with the police.

“Later, I was freed. When the public makes its stand on its rights, the police accuse us of obstructing its work. For the regular man, anything can happen in a police station. To intimidate, the police use a whole team to intimidate a person. This can happen to anyone. Threats made when we refuse to surrender our cellphones. Where are our rights when police abuse its powers. Police stations are not safe place. Are they the police or bullies? he asked.

Cheras police chief ACP Muhammad Idzam Jaafar(pix) said the policemen were on crime prevention patrols when they checked on the man on suspicion of being involved with placing bets with illegal lottery bookmakers with the WhatsApp application.

“The man did not give his cooperation when police wanted to examine his cellphone and left for his relative’s house in his car. The policemen sought assistance from their superior who then arrived at the house and explained the situation before taking the man to the police station.” he said.

Muhammad Idzam said on inspecting the cellphone, police found that the WhatsApp application had been uninstalled and all evidence of related to the alleged involvement with illegal lottery punting was erased.

He said after the particulars of the man was recorded, he was freed unconditionally and a police report was lodged over the matter.