Activists lodge reports over their arrests

Five activists lodged police reports alleging that they were wrongfully arrested and mistreated for defying the conditional movement control order (MCO) while seeking justice for hospital cleaners.

National Union of Workers in Hospital Support and Allied Services president Roziah Mohamad Hashin also lodged a separate police report over the matter.

The five were the union’s executive secretary M. Sarasvathy, 67, treasurer V. Santhiran, 52, industrial relations officer L. Danaletchumi, 35, and Parti Sosialis Malaysia activists P. Jody, 61, and M. Subramane, 60.

They were arrested on June 2 at 12.10pm for gathering on the grounds of Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital and claimed trial when they were charged in court on June 4.

Sarasvathy claimed that less than 20 people had gathered that day and all wore face masks, stood a metre apart and their temperature was taken.

“Later the police told us to disperse, but allowed five of us to go inside the hospital’s grounds to hand a memo to the workers’ superior.

“However while we were waiting to do so, all five of us were arrested, placed inside a police van and our hands bound with chains. They tried to take away our mobile phones forcefully,” she said during a press conference after lodging the reports at the Ipoh police headquarters here yesterday.

Sarasvathy also claimed that while inside an investigation room, a police officer shouted, intimidated, used abusive words and told them not to make noise like animals.

She claimed the police did not comply with the government’s standard operating procedure (SOP) as they were placed and had to eat with other detainees in the lock-up while no face mask was provided.

Roziah condemned the behaviour of the police officers and personnel involved, stating that picketing for the rights of workers was not against the law.

“The five were arrested for defying the MCO but the police themselves did not practise the SOP with the detainees inside the lock-up and the investigation rooms,” she said, urging authorities to investigate the matter.

When contacted Ipoh Deputy OCPD Supt Mohamad Nordin Abdullah said if the allegations were indeed credible, there would be an internal investigation.