DAP condemns the police for delaying far longer than necessary, the release from detention of DAP Socialist Youth chief and MP for Rasah Teo Kok Seong as well as activists Adam Adli Abdul Halim and Mandeep Singh, by abusing Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code(CPC) in seeking a four day remand order over their involvement in the #KitaLawan rallies. The magistrate instead issued Teo a one day remand order whilst the other two were given a 3-day remand order.
According to Section 117 (2) CPC, remand order is given by magistrate to detain an accused person based on the maximum punishment for offences being investigated. If the offence under investigation is punishable with imprisonment for less than fourteen (14) years, then the remand shall not be more than four (4) days on the first application, and shall not be more than three (3) days on the second application. On the other hand, if the offence under investigation is punishable with death or imprisonment for fourteen (14) years or more, the detention shall not be more than seven (7) days on first application and shall not be more than seven (7) days on the second application.
Does the police need to have a 4-day remand order to complete investigations on a peaceful assembly which is considered by the United Nations as a fundamental human right of freedom and not a criminal act? There is no need for detention, the entire process can be completed in less than 24 hours. If a four day remand order is needed for such a simple matter, then the police are just incompetent in conducting investigations. No wonder Malaysia continues to be threatened by rising street crime and unchecked violence.
If the police investigating their cases need a 4 day remand order, then they should be retrained to speed up work and be more productive. Or is this malicious act done deliberately to punish Teo and others by slowing down the investigation process so that he can be detained longer?
The act of handcuffing them like common criminals will not undermine nor defeat their spirit to fight for justice and freedom for the rakyat and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Instead this harsh treatment will anger the rakyat and spur them forward to fight harder to overcome during the next general election, a tired and corrupt regime relying on lies, threats, fears, hate and violence to retain their grip on power.
Teo’s release tomorrow will not be the end but may be merely the beginning of a long court process to punish him with fines or imprisonment that will cause Teo to lose his parliamentary seat of Rasah. DAP will be with him all the way to fight the case in court.