[ad_1]
PETALING JAYA: Human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) has questioned Johor police for crossing state borders to arrest radio personality and actor Patrick Teoh.
“For a crime that does not pose an immediate threat to public safety, it is rare for the Johor police contingent to cross its state borders to arrest a person in Petaling Jaya when the crime itself could have been remotely investigated,” Suaram CEO Sevan Doraisamy said. in a statement today.
“This is even more absurd when the country is still under the conditional movement control order and interstate travel is prohibited by default.”
Teoh was arrested by a team from the Johor State Business CID at the Petaling Jaya Police Headquarters on Saturday for alleged insulting statements against Johor’s Tunku Mahkota, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim and the royal institution of Johor.
The case is being investigated under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act of 1998, which establishes a fine of up to RM50,000 or imprisonment of up to one year or both, in case of conviction.
Johor Police Chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said yesterday that the police would seek a new arrest as Teoh was not cooperating with the investigation.
Sevan said Ayob’s statement that pretrial detention can be extended to “non-cooperative” detainees is “punitive in nature and grossly unfair.”
He said the suggestion that prolonged detention would make a detainee more susceptible to cooperation was “malicious”.
He called for Teoh’s immediate release and urged the ministry of internal affairs to conduct an investigation into the Johor police rationale behind the arrest.
False or not? Check out our fast fake news destroyer here.
