I call upon the Minister of Home Affairs to state what precautionary measures the police will take in order to safeguard the public given the rise of cases of late where policemen are alleged to be involved in abduction.
In the most recent case some 50 days ago, 4 persons believed to be police officers, one of whom was in uniform, arrested Manogaran Krishnan and V Ganesan at a factory and took them away. Efforts to contact them failed and police reports were lodged.
Yesterday the families of the victims were asked to provide doctors with DNA samples in order to determine if 2 highly decomposed bodies found were that of the 2 men.
This scenario is not unheard of.
On 2nd February 2013, Dato K Gobala Guru was likewise stopped and arrested by persons believed to be police officers outside a hotel in Jalan Maharajalela. He has not been heard of nor seen again thereafter.
On 4th April 2011, 5 men in Seri Serdang, G. Jeyasingham, Hari Kumar Maniam, Mathan Nadarajah, Dilipan Palani and Gobi Ramakrishnan were arrested by men who had badges and handcuffs whilst having breakfast. They too have disappeared.
The government cannot keep silent in the face of cases like these. People need to know whether or not it is safe to submit to arrests whenever they are approached by police officers and I think the Home Minister must break his silence over the matter.
This is a matter of public interest and concern. If one resists arrest, that would in itself be an offence. But submission to arrest may cost much more instead, going by the cases I have referred to above.