Rights of minor infringed in handling of Johor case, say Suhakam, Muda

PETALING JAYA: The rights of a minor were infringed when a 17-year-old female suspect was paraded by police in handcuffs and lock-up attire, says the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

Suhakam's Children's Commissioner Dr Farah Nini Dusuki said there were two instances where the rights of the minor in question were clearly infringed.

"General procedures when arresting an adult are different from when arresting a child. She cannot be handcuffed based on the Child Act, under Section 83A(1)," said Dr Farah.

She said that handcuffing is only appropriate if a grave crime had been committed, such as murder or drug trafficking.

"Her right to privacy has been infringed as well with the dissemination of information and the videos. Her right of privacy as a minor extends from pre-arrest, during arrest and even during the trial," said Dr Farah.

She also said that journalists are advised to adhere to section 15(2) of the Child Act 2001 which prohibits any dissemination of any picture of any child involved in any criminal processes, including arrest.

"Even those who have shared disseminating the video are infringing on her rights to privacy under the Convention on the Rights of the Child by sharing the video of a minor," she said.

Similarly, the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) also said that the act of parading a minor in handcuffs and lock-up clothing violates the Child Act 2001.

Its human rights bureau director Dobby Chew said that the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) must swiftly intervene and issue an order for pictures of the minor to be taken down.

This comes after a 22-year-old local man and his 17-year-old female companion were arrested in Johor for allegedly performing an indecent act.

Chew said it was highly unethical and damaging for the police to parade the two persons in handcuffs and remand clothing and allow photos of them in such conditions to be proliferated and shared freely.

"The Child Act 2001 provides clear regulations and rules surrounding the treatment of juvenile offenders.

“Section 83A (1) explicitly states that a child shall not be handcuffed unless it is an offence involving grave crimes or if there was an attempt to resist or evade arrest.

“There are no indications that the two of them were in any way committing a grave offence or resisting arrest," he said in a statement on Friday (April 7).

He then said that there must be clear rules and orders surrounding the treatment of minors, and any violation by the arresting officer must be dealt with severely.

Meanwhile, Muda said on its official Twitter account that displaying explicit images of minors in such a manner will only further harm them.

“Besides the Child Act 2001, we recently approved the Sexual Offences Against Children (Amendments) Bill.

"Muda is urging MCMC to intervene in this matter and protect the identities of the minors who have been publicly exposed,” the party said.

On Thursday (April 6), police detained the two suspects for allegedly engaging in an indecent act at a car park.

Seri Alam OCPD Supt Mohd Suhaimi Ishak said the couple were apprehended after a 23-second video of their indecent act was uploaded to Twitter and went viral on social media.

“The incident took place on Wednesday (March 29) in a car park at Taman Kota Masai, Pasir Gudang at 3.03pm," he said in a statement.

"We have detained a male suspect aged 22 and a 17-year-old female suspect," said Supt Mohd Suhaimi.

They were then photographed being brought to and taken out of court in handcuffs, dressed in lock-up clothing.