Malaysia: Police were brutal, say Kg Hakka victims

KUALA LUMPUR: About 30 villagers from Kampung Hakka, Mantin gathered at the Bukit Aman police headquarters today to hand over a memorandum on claims that the Mantin police officers were brutal and bias towards them.

Prior to that, this morning they also handed a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).

Lead by village head Chong Tze Yaw and other villagers they were very upset on how the police had treated them during a peaceful demonstration last week.

A villager who does not want to be named said that they got a notice from the developer on Sept 25 asking them to vacate their homes in seven days.

“We sought help from a lawyer to appeal against the notice to save our homes, and the hearing is supposed to be on Oct 17.

“But to our surprise the police and developer’s representatives came to demolish our houses on Sept 30.

“This is an old village and more than six generations have lived here and we were very sad and felt helpless,” he said.

He said that the police did not heed to their request for 30 minutes so that their lawyers could be present.

“They refused to listen to our explanation and went on arresting 12 villagers and hurting others in a brutal way.

“I am saddened the way they treated us. Even some elderly people got injured. They slapped a few persons arrested in the police van,” he claimed.

He said he hope Bukit Aman would look into the matter and take necessary action.

He also hoped that his house would not be demolished.

“I am praying hard that won’t happen because the developer is willing to pay RM5,000 only.

“It’s not only my family but 60 families are affected,” he added.

SOURCE www.freemalaysiatoday.com