KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — Police have denied that a suspect of the bodyguards’ assault case received special treatment when he was not handcuffed or wore lockup attire when brought to the Jalan Duta Court on Friday.
On Thursday, the man was charged at Klang Magistrate’s Court on several charges including assaulting and threatening the same victims.
Dang Wangi police chief ACP Mohamad Zainal Abdullah said the man was not under police custody when he was brought to Jalan Duta Court as he was granted police bail before being handed over to South Klang police district headquarters.
“For these reasons, police cannot arrest the suspect again and handcuff him for a similar offence just for the purpose of bringing him to the Kuala Lumpur Court.
“As such, there is no issue of the suspect receiving special treatment because the law has provided that no one is to be arrested on a similar offence as stipulated under Article 7(2) of the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, for not wearing the lockup attire, Mohamad Zainal said police had adhered to the set procedure under the Inspector-General of Police Standing Orders (Perintah Tetap Ketua Polis Negara A118), which said that when a prisoner is brought to court, he should wear the clothes that he was wearing when he was arrested, except when the clothes are evidence.
“Police also urge public not to manipulate the issue as it can cause misunderstanding, confusion and give an inaccurate impression, which can affect the image and reputation of police in the eyes of the community,” he said in the statement, which was issued following a viral article and photo of the man in plain clothes and not in handcuffs while being escorted by police to court.
