Teresa Kok files suit against Home Minister for unlawful arrest

MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok Suh Sim has filed a suit against Home Minister and three others for wrongful detention and false imprisonment under Internal Security Act (ISA).

Kok has named Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, Special branch senior officer DSP E Kim Tien and the Malaysian Government as defendants.

Her lawyer, S.N.Nair filed the suit on her behalf at the High Court civil registry at 8.37am on Friday.

“The way my client was arrested and interrogated that day is not right. All her constitutional rights, to call her family and her lawyer, were denied.

“No communication was allowed, all of us were left in the dark. It is only by chance that we know about her arrest after more than two hours later,” Nair told reporters after the filing on Friday.

In the statement of claim, Kok said the defendants and or their agents had forcibly and in a dangerous manner effected her arrest at the entrance gate of her house in Jalan Awan Cina here at 11.15pm on Sept 12 last year.

She claimed that she was not given an opportunity to contact her family or lawyers despite repeated pleas.

Kok said she was not informed as to the place of detention but was taken to Wangsa Maju police station without her consent where she was kept under unlawful detention for about two and a half hours.

The next day, Kok said she was informed by DSP Kim that she was being detained under Section 73(1) of the ISA 1960.

Kok said she was continually kept under detention in a certain secret place of detention-without-trial from Sept 12 to Sept 19 last year.

She claimed that she was continually held in solitary confinement and was deprived of all her constitutional rights.

She said she had been put to severe mental anguish, pain and suffering during the period.

Among others, Kok is seeking damages for unlawful arrest, false imprisonment, pain, suffering and mental anguish.

She is also asking for other relief deemed fit by the court.

Speaking to reporters later, Kok said she decided to initiate the legal suit as her arrest was baseless.

“I am a wakil rakyat. I have official duties to carry on.

“I have waited for half a year for the police and Government to give proper explanation but they never responded to the letter of demand issued by my lawyer,” she added.