Groups: Child’s rights are no minor matter

PASIR GUDANG: A controversy has erupted after a picture emerged of a 17-year-old girl in handcuffs and orange custodial attire being remanded in an indecency case.

Rights group have criticised the police’s decision to have the girl “paraded” but the force has dispelled talk that it had arranged for a photographer to record the process.

“The Seri Alam police headquarters has never called or placed any photographer at the location to record the process of the remand procedures,” said Seri Alam OCPD Supt Mohd Suhaimi Ishak.

Police are conducting investigations to identify any breach in procedures during the process, he said in a statement yesterday.

On Thursday, a 22-year-old male and a 17-year-old female were detained for allegedly engaging in an indecent act at a car park in Taman Kota Masai, Pasir Gudang.

They were photographed being brought to and taken out of court in handcuffs and lock-up attire.

It is understood that the couple were released on Friday on police bail while waiting for the investigation papers to be handed over to the deputy public prosecutor’s office.

Supt Mohd Suhaimi said the two suspects, along with others from separate cases, were brought to the Johor Baru Magistrate’s Court in a police vehicle.

“They then walked on the usual path towards the courthouse for the remand process,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) said the rights of the 17-year-old girl, as a minor, was infringed when she was “paraded” in handcuffs and lock-up attire.

Suhakam’s Children’s Commissioner Dr Farah Nini Dusuki pointed out to two instances of such infringement.

“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),” she said.

She added 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.

“Even those who have shared the video are infringing on her right to privacy as a minor under the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” said Dr Farah.

Muda also said that the act of parading a minor in handcuffs and lock-up clothing violates the Child Act.

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

Chew said the Child Act 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 resisted arrest,” he said in a statement on Friday.

He added that there must be clear rules on the treatment of minors and any violation by the arresting officer must be dealt with severely.

Muda also tweeted that displaying explicit images of minors in such a manner would further harm them.

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

Tebrau MP Jimmy Puah Wee Tse urged authorities to investigate the person who recorded the couple, saying he had been informed that the person behind the video had pretended to be a policeman and requested their identification card.