USM duo detained for trespassing on UM campus
Two members of Dema (Malaysia Youth & Students Democratic Movement) were detained overnight at the police station for allegedly trespassing onto the University of Malaya campus.
Ong Jing Cheng and Yap Heng Lung, both USM graduate students, were stopped by a group of security officers near the Academy of Islamic Studies.
Upon making a spot-check, they found a memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Najib Razak titled: ‘Making a street safe’, on their motorcycle.
Suspecting that they were up to mischief, the officers contacted the police. The duo were the brought to the nearby Pantai police station and detained under Section 447 of the penal code.
Section 447 carries a six-month jail sentence, a maximum fine of RM3,000, or both
Ong, secretary of administration and Yap, coordinator of the student politics department of Dema, claimed that they went to UM at 8pm yesterday to visit a friend.
This morning police obtained a two-day remand order from the Jalan Duta Magistrates Court to facilitate investigations.
Refused access to counsel
Ong and Yap’s legal counsel Mohd Radzlan Jalarudin said that police applied for a four-day order, but the judge granted them only two.
According to Radzlan, the police claimed that they had no time to get statements from Ong and Yap after they were arrested.
However, he said, the police claimed in court today that the two were not cooperative and had refused to give their statements.
Radzlan refuted the police’s claims, saying that Ong and Yap insisted on their lawyers being present before giving their statements.
“This is their basic right, and they were not being uncooperative,” said Radzlan.
He claimed police also refused to allow Ong and Yap to meet with their lawyers.
The duo are expected to be released from detention on July 15, provided the police did not apply for another extention.
Abuse of power
Dema released a statement on its website, criticising the authorities for abuse of power, as universities are “opened zone for public to enter”.
The statement said the two students entered UM to visit a friend, therefore it was unreasonable for UM security officers to accuse them of trespassing.
“The police should have been impartial when carrying out their duties. In this case, the police were biased, detaining Ong and Yap without proper investigation,” said Dema.
Dema’s secretary of national affairs, Lee Song Yong, said that the arrest of Ong and Yap maybe a knee-jerk reaction to a recent case where two UM students were charged with trespass, arson and vandalism.
Wong Pheak Zern, Mkini
