(Bukit Mertajam, Saturday): Last Sunday, I visited How Soon Hock, 24, carpenter, who lost his right eye as a result of irresponsible police gun-play, including Russian rouelette, when he was detained as a robbery suspect.
How recounted his ordeal at the Puchong police station on Oct. 6, when he was taken out of the police lock-up and subjected to severe beating of his soles with rubber hoses and "electric prod" treatment all over his body, as well as irresponsible police gun-play including two Russian rouelette treatments where all the bullets except one in the chamber were taken out and the trigger fired.
When evading a police officer who brandished a pistol at him, a shot went off which tore off his right eye, nearly killing him.
The police then told How when taking him for medical treatment to tell the doctor that he had been involved in a motorcycle accident.
I had last Sunday called on the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai to give his personal attention to How’s case to end such abuses of police powers and the Home Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi to immediately ban Russian rouelettes as a form of police questioning and intimidation technique, and to classify the use of Russian rouelette by a police officer as a serious breach of police discipline warranting criminal prosecution and dismissal from the police force.
The next day, I left for Jakarta to attend the annual meeting of PD Burma, which is an international network of political leaders to promote democracy in Burma.
I am very shocked on my return that neither Abdullah nor Norian Mai had said a single word on such outrageous police gun-play in the past week, showing their utter indifference and unconcern about police discipline and public opinion.
The silence of Abdullah and Norian Mai on irresponsible police gun-play trifling with human lives is further testimony of the deterioration of good governance in Malaysia and the undermining of the principles of accountability and transparency in the past year since the last general election.
If Abdullah and Norian Mai are not prepared to publicly take a stand
to censure irresponsible police gun-play trifling with human lives, then
both of them should be censured in the current meeting of Parliament for
their most deplorable conduct.
(21/10/2000)